Marriage troubles may simply be the 'storm before the calm'

With Valentine's Day around the corner, the timing is ripe for a new book which focuses on how all marriages can be made in heaven – and on earth.

Angel Davis is a Christian counsellor who has had the privilege of seeing God's healing grace at work in those she has counselled.

She has experienced stormy waters in her own marriage, and through her own time of healing, has survived and thrived to tell other couples of the joy that eventually arrives in the morning.

"Following Scripture is the key but most books on marriage start at the wrong place - with instructions like 'husbands love your wives' and 'wives respect your husbands'," she says.

Davis believes that marriages are all about working for God's glory, refining us and bringing the Kingdom of God here to earth, rather than about our personal desires and agenda.

Her heart is to see couples released to live in the abundantly blessed state that God intended for them and she shares her thoughts on how they can achieve this in her new book, The Perfecting Storm.

Reassuringly, Davis says that although sometimes only one spouse can see the problems in a marriage, the relationship can still be turned around even if one spouse is disinterested in improving it.

Change in the relationship starts with change to an individual's heart, she contends, and by relying on God's power, she believes the transformation of one spouse can have a positive effect on the other.

Importantly, she firmly believes that separation or divorce is not the answer, and that even the rockiest relationship can be transformed.

"Couples can get there, to be sure, but only after managing the struggles that naturally arise between two people prone to sin," she says.