The Barnes
On August 16, 1969, Noah and I were married in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. We met while attending Johnson C. Smith University, located in Charlotte, North Carolina. Upon graduation, Noah was offered a position to work for General Foods Inc. in Charlotte, N.C. as a sales representative. We were excited to begin our marital lives together in Charlotte. After seven months of being married, Noah got drafted into the United States Army. He served his basic training at Ft. Bragg in Fayetteville, N.C., which was about a 3-hour ride from Charlotte.
When Noah completed basic training, he was assigned to teach reading to new Army recruits who didn’t know how to read. Shortly after working as a reading instructor, Noah received orders to report to New Jersey, Noah was going to the Vietnam War. This news was very upsetting because we didn’t know if Noah would be assigned to an infantry unit. When he arrived in Vietnam, Noah was given a clerk typist MOS (job), and he couldn’t type. God also blessed him to serve his time in the city of Saigon, not in the jungle, his living quarters were in a villa with maid service. To God be the Glory!
I was twenty-two years old when Noah left for Vietnam, my mother wanted me to return home, but Noah wanted me to stay in Charlotte. My first test of submitting to my husband. The Word teaches us to leave our mother and father and “cleave” to our husband and wife. I stayed in Charlotte. We were blessed to have married friends who lived in our apartment complex who watched out for me, they were like having an extended family. I had to really grow up fast after Noah left for the ‘war”. We had a 1967 Volkswagen Beetle which I didn’t know how to drive, and I didn’t have a job. God allowed me to quickly learn how to drive and I got a job with a daycare center. I busied myself decorating our apartment and waiting for the return of my husband. After serving 12 months in Vietnam, Noah returned home from the war. Noah’s employer transferred us to Atlanta, Ga. where our marital journey continued.
During our 53 years of marriage, we have experienced many ups and downs and have gone through many seasonal changes. We are so thankful that our parents taught us about the love of Jesus. Although we were not saved during the early years of our marriage, the seed of God’s love was planted in us. Regardless of the storms that our marriage have endured, divorce was never an option. As we grew spiritually in our relationship with Jesus and began to pray together, our marriage grew and withstood many darts of the
enemy.
God’s Word has taught us what our roles are as a husband and a wife. We also learned from the Word how to love each other, to forgive continually, respect each other, to pray for one another and learn how to rest in our Lord Jesus Christ who gives us direction.
We were blessed with our daughter, Mia Danielle, for 24 years; she is now with the Lord.
God has blessed us to have two God grandchildren and a host of nieces, nephew’s great nieces and great nephews. We are thankful for God’s blessings!
Serving on the board of Kiss and Tell Christian Couples Fellowship has given us an opportunity to share our testimony, share how to enrich marriages, and to acknowledge God’s faithfulness in restoring marital relationships.