Charisse and Chris met through a mutual friend. They are a unique couple because they serve together in ministry. Chris is a Chaplain and the Senior Pastor of Unity Christian Fellowship Church, and Charisse is the host of “The Rise & Shine Talk Show with Lady C.” Charisse holds a master’s degree in Pastoral Counseling and loves to help others in the counselling realm. Charisse and Chris have been married for 8 years, and the two of them look forward to many more to come.
Charisse says that their relationship was organic, not forced and that they had a lot in common. They talked on the phone for a month before Chris asked her for a date. Charisse says they had a lot of fun dating – they prayed together, travelled, laughed, dined, and went to the movies and community events. She says that there was no drama. They met each other’s families, and the bonds of love were established on both sides. They communicated deeply with one another and left no stone unturned. Importantly, both of them allowed the other to ask any question at all about their past, in order to build a successful future. Due to their faith and commitment to God, there was no pre-marital sex. They wanted something different for their dating experience. And above all, they wanted to honour God.
Charisse shares a few pointers in the love department!
1. You Can’t Hurry Love!
Lady C says that you can’t hurry love! It takes time to establish a friendship with someone, and truly successful relationships are based on a deep foundation of friendship. Therefore, according to Lady C, you shouldn’t try to force, coerce, or rush a relationship. Forcing a relationship never works in the long run. Someone is always left unhappy, jaded, or holds a grudge. So, while you can try to rush, hurry, and even force things to happen, it will often create unresolved issues from the very beginning. And who needs that in a relationship? Imagine that you have all the time in the world because only time and patience will grow a healthy relationship and, ultimately, a successful marriage.
2. Leave no stone unturned!
Lady C says to ask questions and to test your compatibility while dating! This is the time to explore and be curious about your partner. You don’t want to be timid with questions, but you don’t want them to feel like they’re being interrogated, either. Finding a balance and having fun with the process is a natural and beautiful way to get to know one another. Lady C says not to shy away from discussing life and previous relationships, personal goals, faith, finances, expectations, parenting, pets, and anything else of importance to you. You learn a lot by simply listening and interacting with one another!
3. Trust your gut!
Lady C says that when God wants to introduce someone new into your life, He will find a way! All you need to do is relax and listen to what your instincts tell you! You might hear about this person from friends, run into him at the store, or his name might come up in random conversations as if God was gently prodding you to pay attention. Lady C felt that Chris was meant for her because one of their mutual friends kept bringing him up to her. Later on, she found out there were many parallels between their lives. It turned out she had even worked with his sister before ever meeting him, and everyone always thought the two of them were related! It seems that even if she didn’t agree for him to phone her, God would have found another way for them to meet! Only when she followed her instincts did the two of them begin to talk and get to know one another. And once she did, Lady C was in awe of the parallels between their lives, and the many common interests the two of them shared.
4. Don’t panic!
Lady C didn’t meet her husband until she was 42 years old, and according to her it was well worth the wait! She says that panicking over your relationship status never helped anyone. So whatever you do, don’t panic, even if the person you’re looking for takes time to show up in your life! Trust. Trust in the process of life and that your life happens exactly as it is meant to happen, in order to help you learn the most from your experiences. Trust that he will come when the time is right!
5. All you need is love!
Lady C says that all you need is love in your heart. She believes Chris showed up for her when he did thanks to all the soul-searching she’d done over the years. She reached a point in her personal development of full and complete self-love and acceptance. She knew what kind of relationship she deserved, and she was unable to settle for anything less than that because she loved herself! Her love for herself and God manifested the kind of partner that was able to love her fully and completely. Lady C says that we attract the kinds of relationships into our lives that we believe internally we deserve. This is why we must love ourselves wholly and unconditionally!
Conclusion
Lady C wishes you to be patient, communicate, listen to your intuition, trust in the process of life, and experience the depths of love. She says that armed with God’s love and love for ourselves, there’s nothing we can’t accomplish in our lives!
If you’d like to learn more about Lady C’s uplifting, informative, and motivating topics on life, faith, family and ministry from the perspective of a pastor’s wife, please visit the links below:
Listen on Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-rise-shine-talk-show-with-lady-c-podcast/id1663409951
Listen on Podbean Podcasts: https://www.podbean.com/pi/pbblog-83jqa-ee6083