Their Marriage Shattered Then God’s Grace Rebuilt It

When Monte and Dani Florea married in 1986, they were both coming out of broken marriages, yet they were hopeful for a fresh start. While Dani poured herself into raising their boys, Monte worked hard to create a successful ad company that quickly expanded across multiple states.

Monte says, “The Lord had blessed our marriage with our kids, with a beautiful home, with a business that was profitable, and a beautiful wife. I'm pretty much on top the world.”

Soon, Dani joined the business as office manager. However, as the workload grew so did the tension between them. They struggled to meet each other’s expectations.

Dani shares, “I wanted the approval of Monte rather than the critiquing of him. And when I didn't get it, I would just stuff, and I got angry and angry. He is a different kind of arguer and conflict resolver. I was very passive aggressive. I would just stop arguing and then I would freeze him out for days.”

Monte recalls, “I didn't fully understand what was causing the problem with her. But it was causing problems with me as well, because I didn't know how to deal with it.”

They sought counseling, however, the distance between them grew. Monte worked late to avoid conflict. Dani numbed her pain with prescription meds and emotional support from her ex-husband.

Dani says, “I knew 100% what I was doing was wrong, but I felt too weak to fix it. And I did not feel that Monte and I could fix our problems.”

Monte discovered Dani’s emotional affair, and the betrayal cut deep.

Monte shares, “I was humiliated. I basically lost a bunch of weight, like 20 pounds, and stopped eating. And it was very damaging to me as a husband, as a father. We've built a life together. We have a lot of investments together. I thought maybe it would pass.”

It didn’t. In June 0f 2012, while Monte was away on a business trip, Dani packed her things, filed for divorce and moved to Dallas to pursue her ex. Monte was devastated and joined a divorce care group for support.

Monte remembers, “One of the scriptures that helped me a lot was Joel 2:25, God will restore the years the locusts have eaten. I’m getting a really good emotional support from a small group. Felt like God was just really nurturing me. At this point I did not feel that there was reconciliation.”

Now in Dallas, Dani realized the gravity of her mistake. The Holy Spirit also began deeply convicting her.

Dani recalls, “Every night at about 3:00 AM I would wake up in a cold sweat with just an ache in my gut. The divorce, the separation, the everything. It was just wrong. I was so deeply convicted, I needed to get on my hands and knees before God and ask him for forgiveness. I needed to ask my husband and my family for forgiveness.”

Dani returned to Colorado however; Monte was in a serious relationship and unsure if he wanted to reconcile.

Monte says, “The pain was still there from the dishonesty, from abandonment, rejection.  I really was not interested in a relationship with her because it was the opening up old wounds.”

Dani turned to God and allowed Him to work on areas that had contributed to the breakdown of their marriage. Then, one day, she got a phone call from Monte.

Dani remembers, “And he said, Danny, are you still willing to restore the marriage?  I just cried and cried with joy. I was on my knees. This is an incredible miracle.”

Monte shares, “The things that God was healing in me was just to have faith in him and open up my heart and my mind to the family that I had before.”

Monte and Dani entered a year-long discipleship program titled, “Called to Obedience.” Through forgiveness and biblical healing, they began rebuilding what had been broken.

Dani says, “It’s about going straight through biblically and solving problems rather than going around it.”

Monte shares, “We just agreed that, Hey, what if we, what if we give it a shot and see if we can make this thing work?”

On September 4, 2017, five years after their divorce, Monte and Dani stood in front of their church, their children and God, … and said “I do” all over again.

Dani remembers, “I was so incredibly grateful, not only to Monte for being willing to come back, but just unbelievably grateful to God for allowing us to restore our marriage.”

Today, they work side-by-side in their real estate business. They also minister to couples in crisis testifying to the redeeming power of Jesus Christ to heal any relationship.

Monte shares, “I can just tell you that, blessings never end.”

Dani says, “For people who are having conflict in their marriage, first of all, don't give up. Don't let Satan in. Don't turn to a third party. That's devastating. Turn to the Lord because with God all things are possible.”