Examining Your Part in a Difficult Marriage

Darryl Strawberry had it all. Talent. Money. Success. Fame. He had been a power-hitting, eight-time Major League All-Star who earned four World Series championships in 17 seasons with teams like the New York Mets and the New York Yankees. Then his career and his life were derailed by substance abuse and prison time. He lost two marriages, was estranged from his children, and was $3,000,000 in debt.

When Darryl met Tracy – in recovery – she was also in a bad place. Although she grew up in a middle-class family with loving parents who raised their children with good values, she suffered sexual abuse at an early age, which contributed to a long slide away from her parents’ faith. Eventually, she fully embraced all that the world offered and ended up losing her children and suffered two broken marriages.

When they got married, they were both broken people and neither was living for the Lord. Each brought years of brokenness and dysfunction into their relationship. They fought dirty. They called each other bad names. They threw things at each other. Their marriage became a living nightmare that seemed impossible to resolve. No one thought they could come out of their problems and make it work. But they did.

As you’ll hear in my conversation with Darryl and Tracy on Focus on the Family with Jim Daly, they chose to follow the Lord’s path and allow Him to re-direct their lives. And that changed everything.

Darryl and Tracy Strawberry are living proof that, with God’s help, any couple can overcome seemingly insurmountable obstacles and build a happy marriage. Tune in on your local radio station, online, on Apple Podcasts, via Google Podcasts, or listen on our free phone app to hear how, by God’s grace, they found spiritual, emotional, and relational healing.

Darryl and Tracy’s story is a wonderful reminder that no matter how hopeless a couple feels, it’s rarely too late to save a marriage. If you’re on the brink of divorce, I encourage you to learn more about our Hope Restored program. These marriage intensives can go a long way toward restoring your hope, facilitating healing between you and your spouse, and bringing restoration to your relationship. The intensives take place in five locations: Branson, MO; Greenville, MI; the WinShape Retreat Center in Rome, GA; Cave Creek, AZ; and our newest retreat center in Wimberley, TX. The number for Hope Restored is 1-866-875-2915, or visit online.

I’d also like to offer you Darryl and Tracy’s book The Imperfect Marriage: Help for Those Who Think It’s Over for a gift of any amount. Click here for more information or give us a call at 1-800-A-FAMILY (232-6459).