My name is Karina Palomo, I have been married to Henry Palomo for 23 years, thanks be to God. We have been blessed with three amazing sons whom I like to call angels. We are so very proud of them. Henry and I met at the age of 14 at our Lady of Guadalupe Church youth group. We started dating when we were 18 years old and got married five years later at the age of 23.
The first few years of married life were challenging. When they say that to build a steady foundation takes rocks rubbing against each other, causing friction (and many earthquakes), that was us. You hang on through the earthquake and find a safe place until it eventually settles. And as others say, “wait for the wave to pass through, if it’s much bigger than you, hold your breath until it passes.”
We looked forward to our wedding and finally starting a family – a happily ever after. We didn’t know what it would take to adjust to each other; we just knew that ‘LOVE’ would fix it all. Yet, it would take 3 of us to work through our challenges: Henry, God and me.
Fascinated with the idea of being parents, we were thrilled to discover we were having a honeymoon baby! Though the pregnancy and delivery were complicated leaving us very scared. God healed those wounds and took away our fears, soon after we found out we were expecting our second child!
While enjoying our new adventure as a family we didn’t realize we weren’t prioritizing time for one another. We were arguing, complaining and annoyed with each other, not realizing that it was our hearts’ way of saying ‘I need time with you’. We would go out as a family and enjoy ourselves but it would stop the moment we got home.
We were both raised with the same saying: "Don’t hang your clothes out to dry". So, we didn’t. We kept it all in. Once home is when the chaos began, we found we were horrible to each other. At one point, we decided it would be best to separate.
On the night Henry wasn’t supposed to return home, something inside me thought he would – and he did! This was the night the Lord healed us. He removed our blinders and made us see the mess we had made of our relationship. God allowed us to forgive each other. Although we were hurting, we made a conscious decision to work things out and seek help. Once the storm was over, we realized not having God in our lives did not allow us to identify what was missing from our marriage. Although we participated in retreats and prayers, we had not put our faith and confidence in God first or at all.
Something in me told me God had great plans for us which the devil did not want it to be achieved. Curious as I was, I wanted to know what God had in store for us; that’s what kept me going. I needed to know! Once we decided to work on our marriage and prioritize our faith, I was able to finally see and understand. Soon after, God blessed us with a beautiful third angel, allowed me to stay home to raise my sons – the three beautiful gifts He gave us and shortly after and by his
Grace, we were able to purchase a home! After everything we have been through, we have been able to give back and help many other couples and families through their strife. We help them to not only try to see but to believe there is a light at the end of the tunnel – and that light is God!
