I felt like a washrag, that he just rung it, and rung it

and rung it until there's just nothing left.

He had just really damaged everything to that point.

NARRATOR: Bill and Teresa's marriage

began with dreams of a happy life together

and a warning from Bill's mother.

His mother told me that he was an alcoholic,

but I thought, well he's only 22.

I mean, how do you even know a 22-year-old's an alcoholic?

I just didn't take it serious.

And I guess I didn't really know what to expect with it.

NARRATOR: Bill grew up with a high sense of insecurity

and a low self-esteem.

As a teen, he learned he could cover his insecurities

with alcohol and sex.

From a very early age, I felt not quite as good or as worthy

as people around me.

And there was a disconnection.

If someone was willing to be intimate with me with sex, then

to me, that was proving that I had

a moment of someone accepting me and giving me

a sense of value and worth.

NARRATOR: During their marriage, Bill

would often get drunk and fixate on sexual fantasies

with other women.

I felt there was nothing wrong to daydream about such things.

I figured as long as I was not touching,

I was not following through with the act,

then there was no harm.

NARRATOR: It wasn't long before he

turned his fantasies into reality,

and began having affairs.

It had really been years of this cycle of me finding out

that he had called different women when

he had been drinking.

I think my way of dealing with things

was really not dealing with them.

I just couldn't handle it.

NARRATOR: They occasionally went to Mass on Sundays,

but nothing seemed to help Bill remain

sober and faithful for long.

I promised to a 12-step group.

I promised God a couple times that I would never drink again.

I promised my wife, I promised my children,

I promised everyone I knew, employers.

And I broke that promise every time.

I'd have short-term being on the wagon, if you will,

where I would try to pull my life together and prove

that I could walk as a good man, and as a good son

and as a good husband.

But it was short lived.

And all the expectations and the past resentments

would once again start falling upon me.

NARRATOR: After a long period of sobriety,

Bill confessed he'd had another drunken affair.

It broke her heart.

It broke my wife's heart.

The vows that I'd made to love you

through better or worse, sick and health,

that I had shattered that.

And when I met Teresa, is was the one person

that I never wanted to hurt.

This has to be done.

This has to be over with.

This marriage has to be done with.

It had just been years of the cycle.

And I just thought, this is crazy.

I love him still, which was strange, but I hate him.

I hate him.

I hate what he has done to me, to our family.

I didn't want my sons to think it was OK to ever treat

a woman like this and think it was OK to keep going this way,

because it's not OK.

There's nothing about it that's OK.

NARRATOR: Bill isolated himself and was filled with remorse.

Then, he says he had an encounter that changed him.

After about a week of contemplating suicide

and daydreaming how to kill myself,

I cried out with every ounce of strength

I had in my body, my mind and my spirit, God,

either kill me or fix me.

I was done.

I didn't have any more manipulation for God.

I had no more trying to compromise with God.

And I finally made a request that he was waiting, I believe,

all my life to hear me say.

Do your will with me, Lord.

I asked Jesus Christ to come into my heart, and forgive me

and to set me free.

And as soon as my words were done,

there was a calmness started to come over me, and a peace.

And I knew that I had just made a connection

with the true living God, and everything started

changing from that moment.

NARRATOR: Teresa saw a change in Bill almost immediately,

and she decided to stay for the time being.

They found a church and received counseling

from the pastor and his wife.

They were just so loving with us.

They just became family to us so quickly, and they mentored us.

And instead of judging our situation, they prayed for us,

and they just taught us a whole other way

of life, a whole other way of life with Jesus.

NARRATOR: Teresa also surrendered her life to Jesus,

and says she found a sense of security she'd never

known before.

He just let me know if I kept Him first,

any man can forsake me.

Any person can forsake me, because they're human.

But He never well.

He never will forsake us.

And so when I really got that, I just

felt like He's going to carry me through anything.

And I just refuse to live in fear.

NARRATOR: Bill says it was staying

connected to God that made a lasting difference

in their lives and marriage.

When I came to true forgiveness and mercy through Jesus Christ,

everything about my future changed.

I was no longer the same man.

And He gave me hope, He gave me direction, He gave me love.

And He took away the worthless feeling,

and started putting His word into my heart.

And so I dove into his word.

NARRATOR: Today, Bill and Teresa have a happy, healthy marriage.

She is my best friend.

She is the most beautiful woman I've ever laid eyes on.

And to me, she gets prettier every day.

The Lord is really and truly the great restorer

of all things.

If you're open and you're willing,

He will restore what is broken.

And we were very, very broken, and He restored us.

He just has made new creations in us.

And it just has given me so much hope,

and peace and joy like I've never thought

I could ever experience.