God is Love. I say this often as a reminder that love truly does conquer all. Because God conquers all. Victorious Love. That’s the only kind of love I want. God is also truth, He can’t lie or deny Himself. True Love. And to the Creator of everything, time means absolutely nothing. He’s Omnipresent. Timeless Love. Yet He gives us grace, which allows time to slow for us finite creatures to be able to experience His Love in full. Speaking of timeless love, young love seems to be a shaky subject for people more and more as time goes on. But there are those exceptions. For example, Pastor Thomas Hollis (Rock City Church, under the leadership of Pastor Mike Jr., in Birmingham, Alabama) and Lady Elise Hollis (Lady E). They were high school sweethearts, and here they are years later with a beautiful family, doing it together, the right way. With God. Serving God.
Some people think love is perfect and/or not rocky. Especially when it comes to children of God. To me, that is unfair. We are not perfect, God is. God doesn’t make mistakes, we do. So as long as you have God who is perfect, and Jesus His Son, who is our Rock-it doesn’t matter how imperfect or rocky it gets. A response to one of their questions mentions something they call, “heated fellowship”. That was one of the most beautiful parts to me in the interview. Because they took something that would seem ugly and turned it into something beautiful. Isn’t that just like God? No question marks needed. Because He Is. And because of Him, they are. I don’t want to spoil it in all of my excitement. Take a look at the amazing interview we had with them.
FEMI Staff (Tyrane Hughes): “How do you define Love?”
Pastor Hollis Thomas: “To me, love is the desire and ability to see someone for who they are. Like to truly see someone and to try your best to understand them, protect them, and help them become the best version of themselves.”
Lady Elise Thomas: “I agree with all that, but I’d add that love is affection and letting affection control the way you think about, speak to, and handle someone else.”
FEMI Staff: “Have you and your partner learned each other’s Love Language? How has it helped with communicating your wants and needs?”
HT: “Well, my wife’s top love languages are: acts of service, gifts, and probably quality time. It definitely helps to know these things, but I also think for me and maybe for most of us is to love our partner in their love language, not our own. Like honestly, loving someone the way they need to be loved, not the way you are comfortable giving love.”
ET: “Love languages are important, and I’d say this – make room for those languages to change and shift. Because as life changes, we do too”.
FEMI Staff: “What has been the toughest part about marrying so young, and how did you all prepare to stick it out through the tough times?”
HT/ET: “Marrying young was a challenge. I think for us it was even more challenging because we came from families where marriages either didn’t last or didn’t happen at all. And so, I think a part of our commitment might be to help overcome some of those patterns and be a better example for our children and families.”
Check out the Full Interview with Pastor Hollis & Lady Elise Thomas in our JAN|FEB Black Love Issue!
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