I'm Sorry (eBook)

Meika Harmon (Autor)

eBook Download: EPUB

2025 | 1. Auflage
96 Seiten
Bookbaby (Verlag)
979-8-3509-9741-5 (ISBN)

Infos

I'm Sorry is a light read on a deep subject. It's an exceptional non fiction book that tells the story of 12 married couples and how they each navigate the complex life of being married. Dealing with conflict, the ups and downs of life, while drawing strength from their faith & remaining head over heels in love with each other through multiple decades. I have been on a quest... Can you have it all? A marriage that endures for a lifetime while both partners still being in love. If so, how do you keep that flame burning, the desire for one another, the excitement of wanting to do life together rather than drifting apart. These 12 wildly different couples unlock the secret - each in a way that was uniquely theirs.

Meika Harmon is an author, marriage advocate, and passionate community leader. She graduated from California State University, Stanislaus, with a degree in Business and later earned a Multiple Subject Credential. After several years as a teacher, she shifted her focus to supporting her family and community. Married for over 25 years, Meika has firsthand experience navigating the joys and challenges of a long - term relationship - insights that inspires her writing. Alongside her husband, she co founded a foundation supporting children with special needs and has served on several boards, dedicating much of her time to giving back. A devoted wife and mother of three, she understands the depth and commitment required to build a strong, lasting relationship. Her experiences in marriage and community service have shaped her perspective on love, resilience, and the power of connection. Through her advocacy and writing, Meika shares meaningful insights on cultivating love that lasts, encouraging others to build relationships rooted in trust, love, faith, and mutual respect, while also incorporating fun and joy into the process.

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I'm Sorry is an exceptional non fiction book that says, right in the title, that you have to learn to use this straightforward phrase sincerely, and as often as necessary, to have an amazing marriage. The author tells the story of 12 different married couples and how they each navigate the complex life of being married. Dealing with conflict, the ups and downs of life, while drawing strength from their faith & remaining head over heels in love with each other through multiple decades. Date nights hold a significant role in their lives. The couples have different techniques of solving disagreements, but the key point is that they work at truly listening to the other person and never giving up. Some were fortunate enough to learn how to settle arguments from their parents, but others had no help at all from that quarter and had to figure it out on their own. The significance of religion in a lot of the couples' background has been a helping factor. The author has been on a quest... Can you have it all? A marriage that endures for a lifetime while both partners still being in love. If so, how do you keep that flame burning, the desire for one another, the excitement of wanting to do life together rather than drifting apart. These 12 wildly different couples unlock the secret - each in a way that was uniquely theirs.

Textauszug

Marriage Three:
Dalton and Layla

She Stands by Me

Married for 31 years

“Grow old with me! The best is yet to be.”

– Robert Browning

Communication and compatibility are the bedrocks of their relationship. Layla is a strong, passionate Italian woman married to Dalton, a charming and intelligent Dutchman. Early in their marriage, they discovered the value of asking more questions before jumping to conclusions during conflicts. They’ve built a life full of adventures, from road trips to excursions in Hawaii to quiet moments where they prioritize simply being present with one another!

Dalton

Past and Faith

I was born and raised in Newark, California, alongside my parents, who made it to fifty years of marriage. That kind of commitment set the tone for my views on relationships. When I was in junior high, we moved to Turlock, California because of my dad’s job. My mom always told us the story of how she met my dad. It’s a family favorite. She was on a college graduation trip to Europe, a gift from my grandfather, when she met my dad, a hitchhiker from Amsterdam. She picked him up in Brussels, and that moment changed their lives forever.

After graduating from high school, I headed to UC Davis at the age of 16, earning my bachelor’s degree in business. Faith has always played a significant role in my life. My parents modeled their devotion to each other and their faith, and that foundation has shaped how I approach marriage with Layla.

Conflict at Home

My parents were not really yellers. I don’t remember them ever having conflicts. I don’t know if I just didn’t pay attention or if they did argue. When I was about 15 or 16, I remember my dad getting upset with my mom. He took me for a drive and said, “I’m not going to leave your mom, but I’m really mad at her.” We had one of those conversations where he emphasized his commitment to marriage. He never told me why he was mad at her.

If I think about it, I believe my mom and dad were both passive people; they would rather ignore conflict than face it. I think my mom comparing my dad to her dad was a hard part of their relationship. Money was NOT important to my dad, but it was important to my mom. Another struggle was my mom trying to make my dad more religious like her, and the judgment that went with it if he wasn’t going to church. At one point, she wanted him to be more “Christian” than he wanted to be.

I remember my dad telling me, “I’m a Christian, but I don’t believe in the way she does.” I told him, “I’m probably the most conservative, Spirit-filled person—I mean, I speak in tongues and believe in being Spirit-filled—but you wouldn’t know that. I keep that part of me really quiet. I don’t want to be flamboyant; it’s just not right. I feel really conservative in that way.”

Layla

Past and Faith

I have an older sister and a younger brother—I’m the middle child. My parents were married for 49 years. My dad was in the military for 22 years, so we were Navy brats and traveled all over. Both my parents grew up in Modesto, California, as did my grandparents. My dad retired in 1979, and then we moved back home to Modesto.

My mom and dad stayed together their whole marriage, but they were just two separate people. There was no way I wanted a marriage like theirs. My mom stayed with him because of her faith. The older I got, the more surprised I was that they stayed together. She became a Christian after marrying my father when I was around five. We lived in Hawaii when I was in kindergarten. My mom became Spirit-filled in Japan when I was in first and second grade. She stayed with my dad through all the craziness of their marriage. They fought a lot, often over her religion, and I knew I didn’t want to go down that road. I always used them as an example of what not to do.

Conflict at Home

Conflict in my home was never resolved. They were both yellers—a lot of Italian in them! My mom yelled, but not as much as my dad. They would have a knock-down, drag-out fight, and then act like it never happened. I don’t know how they resolved it; they never showed us. I never witnessed my parents resolving what they argued about. Maybe they found some resolution, but I never personally saw it. My sister and I would hear the argument, and then it would be quiet for a while—nobody said a word. We didn’t want to get in the middle of it, so we would go to our room and play until the argument was over.

We never went on vacations because my dad was gone and we lived in exotic places. I had a lot of field trips, but there were never trips we did as an entire family. I grew up thinking, “I do not want this kind of life when I get married.” And I didn’t! My life is the exact opposite. We have lived in the same town, raising our children. We travel together as a family to many different places—Disneyland is one of our favorites. My life is full of adventure.

How They Met

Dalton shared, “Layla was a youth leader, and I was one of the members of the youth group. Our families left that specific church at the same time and joined a smaller congregation, which gave us more opportunities to interact. When I went off to college, we kept in touch, and every summer, we’d have lunch together.

“The romantic side of our relationship developed after I returned home after graduating from college to work for my dad and became a youth pastor at our church. I was in a season of wondering why I was living where I was and why I hadn’t met my person yet. During that time, I felt God moving in my heart, telling me that Layla was the one I was meant to marry—even though I hadn’t initially seen her that way. Every other girl I met just felt like a ‘no’ in my spirit, so I trusted His guidance.

“The spark between us grew naturally after I had that conversation with God. It became clear she was the one. I proposed to her on my birthday, which became one of the most special days of my life. I showed up at her work with a dozen roses in a vase and asked her to be my wife.”

Dealing with Conflict in Their Marriage

Dalton said, “I came from a home of no yelling, and here she is yelling at me when we first got married. I was like, ‘What is happening? Is our world ending?’ But then after she got it all out, she was fine. I’m like, ‘What just happened?’”

Layla recalled, “I remember one fight in particular early in our marriage. You have to remember that my husband and my dad are complete opposites! My husband is not a tool guy; he doesn’t hunt. He’s more of a business guy and intelligent, and I’m a redneck. We have nothing in common.

“We got invited to go out to lunch after church. At church, a guest speaker prophesied over Dalton, and then we sneaked out because we had to leave for the lunch date out of town.”

“So we’re in the car driving, and I asked him, ‘What did they say over you?’ He started telling me what the sermon was about, but I thought he was telling me what was prophesied over him. The sermon was about a Jezebel woman, but I took it to mean that Dalton was saying the prophet declared I was a woman with a Jezebel spirit, and I just flipped! I made him pull over because I was going to get out of the car. As I was getting out, Dalton was yelling, ‘Wait, wait, wait!’ I was crying, and I finally understood that I had misunderstood him.

“We both learned in our marriage that we have to communicate better. I feel like that was a turning point—we need to ask more questions before we jump to conclusions. I need to be clear in what I am asking; he needs to be clear in what he is telling me. Even now, when we get into disagreements or fights, we stop and take a moment to be clear about what we’re saying. We realize we are not as far apart on the disagreement as we thought we were.”

The Things That Keep Me Loving Dalton

• I have never met anyone with so much integrity. Sometimes it’s infuriating that he always wants to do the right thing. How much he loves God is just one example.
• He puts me and the girls above everything—we’re his main focus.
• He is fun! My parents were not present with one another; they did not invest time in each other. That’s a reason we have made adventure a part of our life, because that’s being present.
• I love how we work as a team in decision making—we pray about it, discuss it, and value each other’s opinions. If we both have peace about it, then we move forward; if one of us doesn’t have peace, then we wait. Whether it leads to better or worse outcomes, we trust that following that peace is the right path.

The Things That Bring Me Home Every Night to Layla

• The way she honors me just blows me away—even the compliments she just gave me. She honors me in a way that I don’t feel I...

Produkt-Details

• Erscheint lt. Verlag: 14.4.2025
• Sprache: englisch
• Themenwelt: Sachbuch/Ratgeber ► Gesundheit / Leben / Psychologie ► Partnerschaft / Sexualität
• ISBN-13: 979-8-3509-9741-5 / 9798350997415