On a cold and bleak day in February earlier this year, Paul Fields was served divorce papers from his wife, Abby, of 23 years. It was not altogether a surprise, as most divorces are not, but it was not something the couple would have ever predicted would happen when they were first married in 1999.

Paul and Abby had a unique start to their relationship. Abby, a very spiritual woman, had been praying intently for God to bring a man into her life. “I didn’t want to be a single mom, and I wanted someone who had children of his own, and at least one girl,” said Abby. Abby had two children from her previous marriage: Christopher and Caroline. 

The couple met each other for the first time at Sunday School class briefly in December of 1998, and it was anticlimactic. “Really neither one of us had much interest. I had already gone out on numerous dates, and I had sworn women off about two weeks earlier. I was ready to focus on my kids,” recalled Paul. The two did not interact much at this first meeting.

After the exchange, Abby’s friend encouraged her to get to know Paul, as he fit the description of the man she had been praying for. Paul was recently divorced and the father of three children: Chad, Cory, and Chelsie. 

Abby intentionally sought out Paul at another church gathering a couple weeks later, and Paul ended up asking her to lunch at O’Charleys, a restaurant that will forever hold a special place in their hearts. It wasn’t long before they became serious and intended to wed.

However, both Paul and Abby were adamant that they did not want to live together unless they were married. “We both had children and you’ve got to live by example. She attempted to buy a house down the road from me, and the deal fell through. We were going to plan a wedding; she already had a date set to move out of her apartment, so we said, ‘okay we will get married right away,’” recalled Paul.   

Due to time constraints, they chose to forgo a traditional wedding ceremony and reception, and got married at the Sumner County Administrative Building in Gallatin. 

“I was wearing jeans, and he was too. After, he went to work, and I went to breakfast with his ex-mother in law,” said Abby. “It was a legal transaction, a binding contract, so we could live together as a good example for the children.” 

No ceremony meant no bridesmaids, and their two daughters, Chelsie, aged 7, and Caroline, aged 3, were devastated. “They cried and cried,” recalled Abby. 

Their blended marriage and new family of seven was good, but far from easy. “I wouldn’t change a thing, but I wouldn't do that twice,” recalled Abby. 

Early on, Abby worked for a law firm in Downtown Nashville, and Paul had his own business stocking and placing vending machines. He asked Abby to quit her job and work for him so she could be home more with the kids. Without hesitation she did, but things did not go as planned. She felt overwhelmed with the workload and ended up spending even less time at home. 

Abby worked for Paul until 2003, and then went to nursing school and started a new career in nursing after that. 

There were other “bumps in the road,” as Abby described. They grieved over Christopher passing away, moved four different times, bought a restaurant called The Red Rooster Cafe, and grew to have different opinions on church and spirituality.

“Marriage at times is difficult, we all have our moments, and over time, it’s not anything that you did to each other, but it’s affecting both of you, and you never see these things coming. They impact you, and it’s devastating,” said Paul. 

Abby filed for divorce in February 2023. “There had been times through the years where I had just been done, but it never felt right. Deep in my gut I couldn't do it. This time I was just done. I found a place to live, I found an attorney, and that was it,” she said.

The divorce papers were served merely days after Paul had decided to go to church with Abby after not attending for years. During the service he raised his hand in response to the preacher’s sermon– indicating that he wanted to be saved. 

“I was just rolling my eyes. I’m calling B.S,” she recalled. At this point Abby had already made an appointment with the lawyer and knew what she was going to do. This was not going to change that. Or was it?

Surprisingly, the couple spent the night in their home talking after Paul received the divorce papers. The next morning, Paul invited Abby to come with him to attend an event his children and grandchildren were hosting at a trampoline park. Abby agreed to go, and before they left the house, Paul did something he had never done before throughout their entire marriage. 

He grabbed her hands and prayed over her, standing right there, alone in their kitchen. 

At that moment, Abby knew Paul had truly accepted Christ. “It was so humbling for him to do and there was no mistake; it was a God moment. I started shifting gears,” Abby recalled. 

“I started thinking that we did not need to move forward with the divorce,” she said.

The whole family had a wonderful time at the trampoline park, and afterward, Paul voiced that he wanted to go to the Saturday night service that evening at Abby’s church, Renovation Church in Gallatin, TN.

The church just so happened to be having baptisms that night. “I asked Paul if he wanted to get baptized, and he said yes,” Abby remembered. “I told the pastor that I wanted to get baptized too, but I wanted Paul to do it for me.”

Abby stepped outside the service, called their children, and asked them to get to the church in thirty minutes or less. They all made it in time to witness the very special moment.

Reliving the baptism, Abby said, “He was very tearful; he was baptized first. The pastor hugged him, and (Paul) tried to walk away, but the pastor said, ‘No, you need to stay here and baptize your wife.’” 

Paul was shocked, “I was just like ‘oh okay, I didn’t realize I was doing this.’ I was fine with it, but it was a surprise to me. I knew what all of it meant for both of us. It was very emotional.” 

Almost immediately after that memorable Saturday night, Paul and Abby began planning their vow renewal. “I had to do it on October 1,” said Abby, who was delighted that the date fell on a Sunday. This was the same date, decades ago, the couple was originally married.

This time around Abby will be wearing a wedding dress, and Paul will wear a suit. The couple will celebrate with a traditional ceremony and reception inside of Renovation Church— their church. 

The entire family will be part of the ceremony, including children, spouses, and grandchildren.  Caroline and Chelsie will finally get to be bridesmaids—something they have waited many years to do.

The couple has made extreme progress in the right direction but acknowledge that it isn’t all sunshine and rainbows everyday. Paul explains there is still work to do, “As a couple you have to decide whether you are going to mend it or break it, and that timeframe of us getting baptized was the beginning of the mending.” 

“You have to make that conscious decision to say, ‘What am I going to do to save our marriage?’ instead of, ‘What are we going to do?’” He continues, “It takes both of you at the end of the day, but you have to focus on yourself and what you’re going to change.”

The couple is taking that idea very seriously and making conscious efforts to better themselves for each other. Thankfully, everything in regards to wedding planning has been falling into place effortlessly, according to Abby. “I want it to be a testimony and a message to others to God-center everything. If you have that focus, all will follow.”

Best wishes to the Fields family and this new chapter in their lives.

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