Monrovia – Valentine’s Day is a day people share gifts with their loved ones, and a period where love fills the air for married couples and young and old lovers. But for Bishop George D. Harris and his wife Rev. Musu Harris of the Philadelphia Church in Congo Town, every day is Valentine’s Day for them after 37 years of marriage.
By: Mae Azango [email protected]
In an exclusive interview with the couple at the Church’s edifice, they revealed their secret to a successful marriage of 37, going on 38 years from 1985 to 2023. A marriage they say was not all rosy but had its challenges as well as good and loving times.
Bishop Harris said God in his wisdom connected him and his wife Rev. Musu Harris and gradually after friendship and fellowship, they started a relationship that led to a happy marriage of thirty-seven years.
“As I was born again, so, I asked God for someone who would be able to fly on the same plane with me and have the same passion to serve God. So, that was how God drew us together. We had our own flaws but we learned to adapt. We learned to first work on ourselves and then worked with one another. I had to let her know what I wanted in a wife, and what she wanted in a husband, and working with her, helped a whole with her temperament, and she listened. Look at where we are today,” said Bishop Harris
When asked if he wrote a letter to his wife’s parents as was done in the days of old.
He said when the decision was made to marry his wife, they told their family members. “From my parents’ background, we had to go to her family for me to officially introduce myself, followed by a letter, and with that our families were excited and embraced our marriage plan,” he said.
‘The queen of my Kingdom’
Acknowledging his wife’s strong behavior when they met, he said that was the beauty of it because she was being herself, but through the grace of God, God was able to transform her as he transforms everybody.
“When we met, she never knew she would be the Bishop’s wife, she was like every young girl, headstrong, zealous, and ambitious, but we worked together and today she is sweet, gentle, understanding, and supportive. I love my darling wife because she is the queen of my kingdom and the mother of my four beautiful daughters,” he said, holding his wife with a smile and sharing Valentine’s roses.
The church and improper upbringing, the cause of divorce
Speaking on the issue of domestic violence across the country, he blames society, the church, and improper upbringing, because of the civil war; and many young people did not receive the proper upbringing because they were self-read.
“The foundation on the national level has been corroded, the kind of strong discipline we had thirty or forty years ago, has caused a decline in our immorality, the war affected us. That gap has destroyed the social platform of this country, so a lot of young people had to basically bring up themselves and moreover, many of the young people are traumatized today. They are not the cause, but rather, they are the victim” he said.
He claimed churches are not helping young people, most especially married couples who are supposed to be counseled between three to six months are the ones telling their pastors when they want to get married.
“These young people need strong moral values, and the church has a lot of work to carry out, so we who called ourselves ministers have to redefine our assignment. We need to teach young people and have mentorship programs in our churches. Young people need help in order to be better leaders tomorrow.
Rev. Musu Harris, on the other hand, revealed that she met Bishop Harris in the Philadelphia Church in 1979 while they were in a prayer group together.
They both became born again and became friends and started dating, which led to their marriage in 1985, a union that is blessed with four biological children.
Learning to adjust
“For me, it was a little different, because I was from a Muslim background and got converted. When I met my husband, I had to adjust, because I was used to fending for myself and then I met someone who sat at the table to eat breakfast and knew table etiquette. That was challenging for me because I was used to buying my ten cents bread and just eating it without sitting at a table. But over the years, I learned and here we are, being married for 37 years and when we add the five years we dated, it will be more than 42,” she added.
Overcoming challenges
Speaking about domestic violence in many homes which leads to divorces, she said young people should know God for themselves and grow in the things of God before even thinking about getting married because marriage has its own challenges. As life in itself is changing so when one gets married, there are more challenges.
“When I wrong my husband, I go back and apologize. So I would say to the young people out there, never feel too big to say sorry. When you are wrong, say sorry, even sometimes when you are not wrong, you still say sorry for peace’s sake, so the relationship can continue. It is not right for women to yell over their husband’s head, I never yelled over his head, but I used to be very cheeky and when he became my pastor I had to change,” she said.
She said many of the divorce cases are from churches, but if the young people will know God for themselves and cross-examine themselves, they won’t blame their partners.
“Once my husband preached and cracked a joke about my past behavior when we had first met. He said: ‘this short Vai girl, by the time I used to say ‘A, she would be finished reaching to Z’; It all has to do with committing yourself to God. Nobody has arrived; we are all growing in God. All of us have our own negative ways, but the bible says when you submit to God, you will be able to resist the devil.”