MOULTRIE — For most couples, when the divorce becomes final, so does the relationship. Often an ugly custody battle follows and the verbal barbs swapped between the former spouses ensure the marriage will most likely never be reconciled.

Well, that’s how it usually goes. Then comes Dale and Jeana Forehand.

Dale and Jena Forehand, who will be heading a marriage and family conference this weekend at Heritage Church on Pavo Road, had the model marriage. Dale was a real estate manager and a deacon at their church. He and Jena taught a couples’ Sunday School class. And at their heels was their two children, Cole and Jorja.

But, when asked about the marriage their friends and family couldn’t see, Dale succinctly responds: “People wear such masks.”

An eight-year marriage crumbled as Dale dove into work and Jena filled the void in her heart with activities at church. Simple conversations escalated into heated arguments.

“The reality was, deep inside, our marriage was dying,” Dale said.

The Forehands said they knew they should turn to the church for help, but they felt so many other families were probably “playing the game,” too.

In June 1996, Dale came home and gave Jena her marching orders, an event that led to a divorce in September 1997 and a no-holds-barred custody battle for Cole, 6, and Jorja, 2.

At one point during the three and a half days of court proceedings, the judge, responding to finding out Dale and Jena went so far as to have two different Christmas trees for the children, said, “Mr. and Mrs. Forehand, I know you guys hate each other, but these babies are going to have Christmas in their home this year. So you had better get together or somebody’s going to jail.”

“When we were sitting there three and a half days after trial,” says Dale, “we looked at everything we treasured, smashed.”

The Forehands were awarded joint custody of Cole and Jorja — a move that, unbeknownest to the judge, would eventually mean reconciliation for the couple.

Dale cites the verse in scripture that prophesies, “a child shall lead them,” when he talks about the role Cole had to play in bringing his parents back together.

“Cole told me one day,” said Dale, “I’m mad at you for divorcing my mom.”

Dale says events like that softened his once-hardened heart. He found Jena also was ready to move toward fixing what had devastated their family.

On December 21, 1997, Dale and Jena were remarried fifteen months after their bitter divorce and several years after their first marriage began to show signs of erosion.

It was a rebirth in more ways than one. Dale and Jena’s son, Cole, the oldest of their two children and the only one old enough to grasp the severity of the situation, prayed to receive Christ the day of the wedding.

From there, the Forehands — again, Dale and Jena — began sharing their miraculous story of restoration, faithfulness, obedience and forgiveness. As they told their story, more and more speaking arrangements were made. They became, in Dale’s words, “messengers of authenticity.” And they began to see the plan God had for them: Stained Glass Ministries.

The Forehands recently released a book called “Stained Glass Marriage.” The book, like a CD available on their web site, www.stainedglassministry.com, tells their story.

The conference this weekend is open to all ages and according to Dale, will benefit both married couples and singles alike.

The conference will begin Friday at 6:30 p.m. and will continue Saturday at 8:30 a.m.

The deadline to register for $25 is Wednesday. Registering at the door is $35. Pastors may attend free.

To register, call Heritage Church at 891-3421.



To contact intern Mitch Kimbrell, please call 985-4545 ext. 223.