Meet Jason & Tori
“How many foul shots is it going to take for you to let me marry you one day?” Jason busted out in typical Benham fashion. “Twenty-five!” I shouted back, confident he’d miss. But that challenge just motivated the man. He showed me. Didn’t miss until number 26! Not long after that moment on the court, he left my hometown of Torrington, Connecticut with a piece of my heart! Eighteen months later, he had the whole darn thing!
Our dating years were nothing short of magical. We had a long distance relationship, so not a moment together was wasted. We danced on the creaking hardwood floors in my kitchen back home to his country love songs every chance we got. He swung me around like a feather, but it was my heart that never felt so light. We were so in love…..
Jason was playing for the Baltimore Orioles baseball team and working on his master’s degree in marriage and family counseling at the same time. He was always so excited to call me and share everything he was learning and hand off the books he finished to me. We didn’t know it at the time, but those were some easy reads. Yeah, snuggled up alone under the covers with a little Kenny G in the background while learning the how-to’s of a relationship was … well … let’s just say, the calm before the storm.
Fast forward a few months into marriage and we were both surprised how different things looked than what we had expected. Jason’s attention had drifted from me to a career while mine was stuck where I wanted his—on me. We knew God had a purpose for our relationship but we had a lot to work through before we’d see some of the good stuff God designed our marriage to produce. Meanwhile, one thing that didn’t seem to be hard for us to produce was babies. Four little half-Jason’s and half-Tori’s—a combo that was sure to keep us on our toes!
Seventeen years later, we’ve discovered that we were made to battle alongside one another, not against each other. There’s a very real battle going on—a fight to the death against the powers of darkness (Eph. 6). But that’s why God gave us a battle buddy—a marriage partner who will help us walk in victory. Jason is that someone for me and I am that someone for him. The more we see this battle for what it truly is—a spiritual struggle against the enemy of our souls—the better we will fight. And the more we fight together, the closer we draw to one another.
That’s why we are sharing our journey—to help you draw close to your battle buddy too!
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