Hello, SGSers!

Our friend Dean, owner of SGS, asked us to write a testimonial for the new site!  SGS was a real blessing to my wife and me, so we are happy to share a little about us and offer up words that will, hopefully, encourage others!

For brevity’s sake, here’s a quick overview of how we met.  In the June/July 2014 timeframe, she caught my eye with both her active forum posting and how she rightly handled Scripture in her posts.  On August 3, 2014, I messaged her, using a quote from one of her recent posts to open the door.  And then I waited…and waited.  Two long days later, she responded.

Both Giselle and I had been previously married, and both of us had children.  Our initial messages revolved around our divorce and family, though we were guarded in what we shared.  On top of that, my family lived in Alabama, while hers was in the Dominican Republic.  Thus, we simply messaged one another, then moved to personal emails, then WhatsApp, and finally, Skype.

On December 31, 2014, we met in person in North Carolina at her sister’s house.  While it was an amazing time together, we already felt as if we had known one another for a long time, given all the time we had already spent talking.  The Lord truly blessed our time together, and we began courting on January 12, 2015.

We were able to meet in person three more times, including one extended period where our children spent a lot of time interacting with one another.  Blended families have multiple challenges, so this time gave us all greater insight into how we as a family would function.  Throughout it all, the Lord continued to bless us richly.

Finally, on 22 December 2015, we were married!  Now, over four years later, we continue to receive such amazing blessings from the Lord!  While we are not perfect, God’s grace has continued to work mightily in our lives!  He has blessed Giselle with a wonderful husband (just kidding, my love!).  He has blessed my daughters with a God-fearing and God-honoring wife and mother to model for and love upon them.  He has blessed Giselle’s daughter and son with a stepfather who attempts to model Christ to them.  And He has blessed me with a woman I am very thankful for.  Sorry everyone–many women have done excellently, but my wife surpasses them all.

In Love, Ric and Giselle Crooks