The film INDIVISIBLE comes out in theaters the end of this week and what is special about this film is that it is inspired by the powerful true story of Darren and Heather Turner, an Army Chaplain couple. As a fellow military chaplain spouse and professional counselor I am always excited to see real stories being told about military and service marriages as it begins important conversations among couples within our military community about the importance of caring for our marriage relationships.
I was given the opportunity through my work and advocacy for military and service marriages to privately screen the film. I watched the film with my husband, an Air Force Chaplain. We talked intimately about how authentic the scenes were in portraying the struggles we experienced in reintegration, reuniting after being separated with a recent overseas assignment and deployment. These are the same challenges we have seen in the lives of the military and service couples we serve and care for in our community. My husband and I have always chosen to be vulnerable about our struggles as individuals and as a couple hoping that will encourage others to come forward for help. I have discovered that genuineness reaches people and encourages them to be real about their own lives. Upon seeing this film and talking privately with Heather Turner I was so encouraged to see other Chaplain couples are doing the same.
We can save marriages in our community by being truthful about our struggles. Heather said it beautifully, when she said if the Chaplain Family can mess it up and come out alright, then there is certainly hope for anyone. There is so much hope! Heather shared openly about their passion and heart for reaching other couples in our community through sharing their story of struggle with reintegration after deployment. She said they now have a deeper intimate relationship as a couple and have a deeper trust in God. This is a beautiful example of how God turns our pain into something beautiful. God often uses the struggles we have to reach others who are hurting in the same way.
The truth is military and service life makes great demands on our marriages and families. It robs us of time spent together. We lose so much in the separation, We lose one another in many ways. Family moments are missed, each member of the family grows and changes. We all have to struggle through challenges and stress of living without the other. We all carry so many things and those things feel much heavier when you carry them alone.
After the dust of homecoming settles we have to fight to find one another again dealing with all of the grief and emotions we carried throughout the time we spent apart. We often find ourselves struggling to find new routines because the ones we are familiar with, do not work so well anymore. Life and people are different.
These are the challenges of reintegration many of our military and service families live with every day. It is so encouraging to see a film so well written, carried out with such passion and conviction reveal our stories to the world. According to Heather Turner the pre-screening of the film has already made a powerful impact on people. I hope it continues to help the greater community understand our culture and our challenges better. More than anything I hope it saves more of our military and service marriages. Marriage is the foundation of the family. We must take care of our spouse, protect our marriage relationship from anything that may threaten it! I am proud to be in the fight not only for my marriage but for all of our military marriages! Will you join me in the fight for your marriage today?
See INDIVISIBLE in Theaters Oct 26!