- [James] The thing that I loved about her

when I first saw herwas that she was a woman

that looked like sheknew where she was going.

She looked like that sheknew what her purpose was.

- [Narrator] After morethan 25 years of marriage,

James and Tryphena relish date night.

They reminisce on howtheir love story began.

- I fell in love with him

because his heart was after God,

and that was somethingthat was attractive to me.

- [Narrator] James proposed

during their churchservice on New Year's Eve,

and in 1993, the couple married

with hopes of a beautiful beginning,

but their busy lives createdchallenges they didn't expect.

- We got married, we were justworking, running, ripping,

trying to take care of thekids, trying to make money.

We weren't really focusingon each other anymore,

focusing on really getting out, dating,

and doing those things thatwe did before we got married,

and that took a toll onthe marriage over time.

- [Narrator] Then therewere money problems.

Early on, Tryphena struggled

to carry the family'sfinancial load on her own.

Her hair salon brought in good business,

but James' work as a contractor

wasn't as successful as he hoped for.

- You know, my pride was like,

I don't want to go get a regular job

'cause this is what I do, I do floors.

And she would be telling me,

"Look, you need to do something,

"you need to do something else."

I'm like, "Well, you see me out here,

"I'm trying everyday,I work hard everyday",

but it wasn't enough.

- But it wasn't enough.

I would call him lazy.

I was like, "They don'tknow you at church."

- [Narrator] Theirdisagreements over money

escalated over the years.

In 2011, another argument about finances

lead the couple to their darkest moment.

- I asked him to pay thehouse and he said he would,

but he took all themoney out of my account

and didn't put any of his money in there.

- I threw my checkbookat her and was like,

"This is your God".

- I grabbed our wedding pictures

and I started to rip them

and I said, "This is what I think of us".

And he got a lighter and beganto burn our wedding pictures.

I ran in the kitchen and got the knives

and I told him I was gonna kill him.

- I was trying to takeknives out of her hand

when she yanked, she cut my hand.

By that time the police had been called.

- I never had a speeding ticket,

I work with kids, I had a beauty salon

and all of these things,

and my marriage was broken.

- [Narrator] Tryphena was taken to jail.

After facing a judge, shewas released on the condition

that she attend anger management

and marriage counseling with James.

Their pastor recommended a 16week program at their church

aimed at strengthening marriages.

- Once we both started doing that

then it was like, "Okay,let me work on me,

"let me work on what I need to do".

"How can I be a better husband to you?"

"How can I be a betterfather to my children?"

- [Narrator] Eventually,

they both began to share their hearts.

- I was a very passive person,

I would let people take advantage of me,

that type of thing,

because I didn't have good self-esteem.

- I needed to be softer,

I needed to be taken care of,

he needed someone to encourage him.

- [Narrator] By the endof the program their love

and commitment to theirmarriage had been renewed.

- I forgave her and I knew thatshe had really forgiven me,

then, I think, healingreally began to happen.

God began to heal us both

and bring healing in our marriage.

I got a different job,

and started being thehead of my household,

and started making surethings were taken care of.

That really turned things around too,

'cause now it wasn't this stress on her.

- [Narrator] Today, James and Tryphena say

surviving their challenges

has made their relationship stronger.

They serve in ministry

and speak out about issuesmarried couples are facing.

- We don't let things build up,

when we have a disagreement,we really do talk about them.

We talk about the good,the bad, and the ugly.

So being honest and truthful,

and just being able to date each other,

but one of the mostimportant things is prayer

and asking God to come in, daily.

- [Narrator] In theirbook, "Marriage Reloaded",

they share their story, along with lessons

that have added to the successof their lasting marriage.

- We raised three beautiful daughters,

to see their dreams come to pass,

that brings joy to my heart.

To see my wife doing what she loves to do

and the things that we'replanning to do together.

- [Narrator] Now, they treat everyday

as an occasion to cherishthe true meaning of love.

- Valentine's Day is every day for us.

- When I wake up in themorning and look at her,

when I see her, I get excited everyday.

- I'm so grateful

that God didn't let me throwmy diamonds and my pearls away.

God is the threefold cord in our marriage

that's not easily broken.

Without him, we could've never made it.