McGuire chaplains sponsor marriage retreat

Published July 29, 2009
By 2nd Lt. Kevin Hostettler

Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst -- Life is busy. We work on our cars, computers and homes, but how often do we take time to work on our relationships?

The McGuire Air Force Base Chapel team recently sponsored a marriage conference in Poconos, Penn. Four of the base chaplains led couples through marriage building exercises and materials.

With guidance from the chaplains, 12 couples from McGuire explored ways to build a strong marriage team. Each partner explored his or her role as a player on the "marriage team" by taking a simple personality test, which helped participants better understand both themselves and their spouse. Couples were challenged to write down specific personality characteristics that they appreciate and accept about their spouse.

Time was then provided for couples to read to one another the things they wrote. Several such structured times of one-on-one sharing prompted one participant to say, "I had an excellent time learning and helping my marriage grow. I would make this marriage conference mandatory for all marriages."

Participants were asked to explore the possibility of permitting God to be the coach of their marriage and challenged to trade in their whistle for pom-poms: i.e., stop fault-finding and start encouraging their spouse. Several participants found this section one of the most beneficial of the conference. One participant said, "This weekend helped open my eyes to ways I can better communicate my love to my husband."

The material was provided through a recent Air Mobility Command Chaplain initiative to standardize marriage retreat materials across the command. Funding for the retreat was provided through a grant from the Air Force Chief of Chaplains.

In addition to the material covered, couples were encouraged to spend quality time together. Several couples took advantage of the free passes to a water park, which was near the resort. Others set off to explore the beautiful scenery that the mountains afford. Some spread out to nearby towns for unique outdoor, shopping and dining opportunities. In the words of one participant, this conference was "one of the best, most constructive weekends spent with my awesome wife in a long time."

For information on future events with the chapel, call (609) 754-HOPE.