I shared my faith with someone who believed differently ( and then married him ) - Sierras story

Sierra and Harrison met in the surf. She was on staff at a Bible College and he had recently returned from a mission trip when their casual conversations about life and faith took an unexpected turn. This is their story…

Sierra: I never expected to have feelings for someone I was sharing the Gospel with, especially not someone who wasn't of the same faith as me.

Harrison and I met when we were surfing. At the time I was on staff at a Bible School, and he mentioned that he had done a mission trip with a church from another faith background. And that was kind of the extent of our first conversation.

The first time we actually hung out besides surfing, I asked him to teach me about his faith. Subconsciously we kind of wanted to convert each other, but very consciously we were open to learn. We said to each other, "We're more passionate about knowing God and knowing the truth than we are about being right."

There was tension sometimes when we would discuss our different beliefs. When I first told him that he wasn't a Christian, that was a huge point of tension. We were driving and he just went really quiet and was visibly upset with his mannerisms. I asked, "Are you okay?" I didn't realize that what I said was going to be a shock to him. I could have said it gentler.

I really came to terms with being attracted to him maybe three months into our friendship. Navigating those feelings was difficult—we were constantly seeing each other and becoming really good friends. After about six months of knowing him, I just woke up one day with the peace of God that it was time to step away from this friendship before it turns into something that it shouldn't be (given where we were both at with our faith). But then...

Harrison: But then I shocked her. At the same time that she had felt a peace to end our friendship (for good reasons), I was also coming to strongly realize that she was actually correct in her theology and views of God.

Sierra is a pretty straight-up person. For someone investigating the Gospel from an outside perspective, it was very helpful to see that the person who's teaching you is actually open, humble, and willing to learn themselves. From that standpoint, the Gospel just speaks the truth of itself through them. Rather than it being about this person being right, it's more about Jesus being right.

Sierra: What I learned when I was sharing my faith was the importance of showing genuine care for the other individual so that it's based on a trusting relationship. This is what really creates an open heart in people.

Harrison: It takes time, and it takes research, and it takes prayer and patience with whoever you're teaching to just walk with them at their pace.

Sierra: And by the way, we're married, and it turned out that, yeah, God guided us all along.