In this compelling episode, we delve into the inspirational journey of Jackie Calloway and her husband Ronnie. Having been married for almost three decades, their first marriage was fraught with challenges, including infidelity and substance abuse. Despite a tumultuous divorce that lasted seven years, the couple was led back to each other by faith, resulting in a second marriage that flourished against all odds. Discover how forgiveness, trust, and divine guidance transformed their love story into a beacon of hope for others.
00:27:22 Contact Information and Book Party Details
SPEAKER 01 :
Welcome to The Good News with Angie Austin. Now, with The Good News, here’s Angie.
SPEAKER 03 :
Hey there, friends. It’s Angie Austin with The Good News along with Mrs. Jackie Calloway. She’s back. She has been a frequent guest on The Good News. She is one of my favorites, and she has a new book out, and she’ll have a local book signing as well. The book is called Till Death Do Us Part, and it’s A Marriage God’s Way. I love this. Jackie Calloway. A Marriage God’s Way. Jackie Calloway, welcome.
SPEAKER 04 :
Thank you, Angie. I’m glad to be back.
SPEAKER 03 :
Well, I want to get into all the particulars because I love some of the highlights where you give us some secrets that kept your love burning after you had a marriage that didn’t go well. You divorced and then remarried your same husband and had a wonderful marriage. And then in your marriage ministry with your husband, I want to talk about some of these transformative tales, as you say. from your marriage ministry. And then, you know, Ronnie’s battle with cancer and kind of the, I would say, miraculous end and how you got more time with him right during the midst of COVID when they were keeping people separated. You two were able to overcome that. So first, let’s give an overview of the book.
SPEAKER 04 :
Well, basically, the book is… The Lord chose us, kind of against my will to begin with, to be examples of a marriage God’s way. And we went into this not knowing exactly what God’s purpose was, but He just fixed it. so that we were able to love one another again. We were able to forgive. We were able to just hook up again and begin to get instructions from the Lord as to how this marriage should work. The Lord had told me that I want you to listen to Ronnie Calloway, but trust me. I’m not asking you to trust him right now, but trust me with all your heart. And that is how we began, and Ronnie had asked the Lord to give him back his family. So that’s how we started out, and it just got better and better as we went along.
SPEAKER 03 :
Now, I want to just also mention, when you say that you got back together, and we’ll get into the particulars a little bit again and kind of review that, this wasn’t a good marriage at all. As you mentioned in our prior interviews and a prior book, that Ronnie was unfaithful on several occasions. He kind of thought that it was his right. And what year were you married the first time?
SPEAKER 1 :
1965.
SPEAKER 04 :
And then the second time? 1996.
SPEAKER 03 :
I love this. Okay, so he wasn’t faithful. You worked more than he did. There were a lot of bumps in the first Ronnie road during your first marriage. So reconciliation was a lot of your family members and people around you really thought was crazy. Exactly. Yes, exactly. So before we get further into it, I want to give you a couple of opportunities to talk about a local gathering for the book release. So give us that info, and then we’ll get more in-depth in the book.
SPEAKER 04 :
Okay. On next Saturday, November 9th, we will have the book release party, and it’s going to be held at the Sam Gary Library. at 2961 Roslyn Street. And we have sent out e-vites, but anyone is welcome to come, and I’ll be signing books. And would love for anyone who’d be interested in getting the book to just show up. We’d be glad to have you.
SPEAKER 03 :
I love it. 2961 Roslyn Street. Got that. And what city is that in?
SPEAKER 04 :
That’s in Park Hill, actually.
SPEAKER 03 :
Oh, okay.
SPEAKER 04 :
Yes, it’s right off of Quebec Street.
SPEAKER 03 :
I got it right here. Okay. That is 2961 Roslyn Street, and they’re in Park Hill, so in Denver, basically. Excellent. Okay, we’ll talk about that a little bit more later on in the program, but let’s get into this miraculous orchestration of your reunion. So you get married in the mid-60s. Ronnie’s unfaithful several times, you figure this out. He kind of sees it as his right. This is old school. You know, we’re talking 60s where maybe, you know, men thought that they had some different rights than the wives. Some men, right? And then there were other things that were troublesome in your marriage as well, correct?
SPEAKER 04 :
Yes, there were. There was drugs, the lying, and it just… It just was not a good thing. But at the same time, we were married for 28 years. And the Lord gave me direction in that marriage, even in a bad situation. And I have to say, Angie, it wasn’t all bad. because when we married, we were very much in love.
SPEAKER 03 :
Oh, I’m looking at your wedding picture, and I mean, talk about, I mean, Mrs. Jackie, I mean, you are a looker, and your husband, let’s be honest, Ronnie, I mean, I can’t imagine how beautiful your children are, because you are one good-looking couple, so I can imagine that there was some red-hot love going for many years.
SPEAKER 04 :
Oh, absolutely, and we had fun together, and In the second marriage, Ronnie was able to tell me that I just didn’t know how to be a godly husband. He said, I never saw one. So in his growing up, he wasn’t exposed to men who were really sold out to God and faithful to their wives. But I tell you on the second marriage, he made it up. He made it up to me big time.
SPEAKER 03 :
Yeah. And let’s talk about that. How so your divorce and how long were your divorce? Seven years. Okay, so you’re married for 28. You get married in the 60s. You’re apart for divorce for seven years. I mean, a big, good chunk of time. That’s as long as some marriages go. And then let’s talk about how you were able to reunite and date again. Again, the book by Mrs. Jackie Calloway is Till Death Do Us Part. Okay, how did you get back together?
SPEAKER 04 :
I’m still asking myself that. No, not really. Ronnie had prayed and asked the Lord to give him back his family. And he had come to me and told me, Jack, you know, I love you and we need to be together. And I told him, talk to the hand. Because I’m not listening to that. Well, later on, the Lord spoke to me and said, I want you to start listening to Ronnie Calloway. I was furious. But he didn’t tell me to marry him. He told me, just listen to him. And trust me with all your heart. And… As I did that, Ronnie was very glad when I came to him and said, the Lord told me to listen to you, so I’m going to listen to you. But I was doing more watching than I was listening, I think. But basically, I heard a new man. The Lord had gotten time to get to his heart, and he had repented. He had yielded to God, and he was really sold out to God. And so for months I grilled him and just put him through the wringer because I didn’t want to get back with Ronnie. But he told me the truth, and the Holy Spirit said to me one day, Okay, Miss Holier-Than-Thou, What are you going to do with the truth? And I was like, wow. So anyway, he proved to me that it would be to my advantage if I married him again.
SPEAKER 03 :
Well, it ended up being fortuitous. I mean, then not only did you two get remarried after he won you over, and as you put, it was beyond your wildest dreams how wonderful the second marriage, the second round with Ronnie was. So talk to me about this marriage ministry and some of these wonderful stories of transformation with other couples that you worked with.
SPEAKER 04 :
Okay. And let me say, too, quickly, that the way that Ronnie won me over was, you talk about old school, he wooed me. Aw. He, everything that he, well, he said God was giving him instruction.
SPEAKER 03 :
Aw.
SPEAKER 04 :
He had gotten to the place, he had his own apartment. The apartment was really nice. Ronnie was always a neat freak. His apartment was very nice. He had everything in his refrigerator that I liked. All I had to do was come in and put my feet up on the couch.
SPEAKER 03 :
Oh, nice.
SPEAKER 04 :
Yeah, and he was just so kind to me. He opened every door. He held every chair. I was waiting for him to ask me for some money. I was not going to give him anything. And I never did. Never did. But he wanted this desperately. He wanted me desperately. And he won me. And it was the best decision I ever made was to marry him again. So then as we continued to listen to the Lord, he shared with us, you shall be called the repairer of the breach. He gave us the name of the ministry as we were fasting one week and just started sharing with us that I want you to help married couples. people start coming to us asking us, how did you get back together? Because our divorce was very, it was a loud divorce. Most people who knew us knew that it was an ugly divorce. And so they wanted to know how we got back together. And as we shared that, we found ourselves counseling people.
SPEAKER 03 :
Wow. Well, okay, let’s talk about, I know you can’t give specifics. In fact, we’ll take a break, okay? So, again, the book is Till Death Do Us Part, and give everyone the info if they’d like to come and to go to your book party next week. Give us the info again.
SPEAKER 04 :
It will be on the 9th, Saturday the 9th, from 12 to 2.30 at the Sam Gary Library. 2961 Roslyn Street and that’s in Denver and would you also give us the best way to reach you so we can find Till Death Do Us Part by Jackie Calloway and Marriage God’s Way yes and it is on Amazon but you can reach me at our ministry phone number and that is 303 307 And our post office box is P.O. Box 473368, Aurora 80047.
SPEAKER 03 :
Well, you’ve really devoted your life to helping others. Again, Jackie Calloway, we’re going to take a break and we’ll be right back. And we’re going to talk about after you and Ronnie got picked together and had that second marriage that was so wonderful, how you helped others. We’ll be right back.
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SPEAKER 03 :
Welcome back. It’s Angie Austin with The Good News. And joining me, we’re continuing our conversation with Jackie Calloway. The book is Till Death Do Us Part, A Marriage God’s Way. And we’re talking about Jackie and Ronnie’s marriage. They were married for almost 30 years and it was not a good marriage. They were divorced for seven and God led them back together. Ronnie said he didn’t know how to be a godly husband, but he followed the Lord’s lead and they had a wonderful second marriage. And so they were remarried after that. So married in 66 or 65, pardon me, and then married 28 years. They were seven and then married again. And how long was the second marriage?
SPEAKER 04 :
For 24 years.
SPEAKER 03 :
Oh, my goodness. 28 and 24 added together with the seven off in between, with the timeout in between, the halftime in between. And you had a great second half. So let’s talk about that ministry when you started. Because Ronnie also let you be very honest. You know, we’ve talked about your other books. And he let you be very honest about, you know, love that would not let me go. About, you know, both of your shortcomings. But in particular his, he let you be very honest about the cheating and the drugs and et cetera. And, you know, you working more than he worked. So then you get back together, you have this wonderful marriage, and then you’re like, wow, if we could get back together, anyone could. So what happened next?
SPEAKER 04 :
Well, the Lord led us into ministry, and it just, the repairer of the breach ministry is the name of the ministry, and that’s in Isaiah 58 and 12. And he did, I have to say that while we were divorced, I started drinking and literally became an alcoholic. All of that is in the first book. But when I saw what the Lord was wanting us to do, getting us back together, I told the Lord, I said, Lord, if you don’t deliver me from this alcohol. I’m going to mess everything up. And I ask you, Father, create in me a clean heart and renew a right spirit within me. Then will I teach transgressors your way and lead them in a way everlasting. And that was when the Lord delivered me from alcohol. Right on the spot. Wow. I never had another desire for another drink. Never.
SPEAKER 03 :
Okay, that’s a miracle.
SPEAKER 04 :
It is a miracle. Oh, it’s a bunch of miracles in this story. A bunch of miracles. But then when the Lord asked us to start counseling, and I said, Lord, I don’t want to counsel because You can tell people something, and it doesn’t work out for them, and they could sue you. And he said, he reminded me of my words. He said, these are the people I want you to help. And I remembered that’s how I got delivered, that if he created a clean heart in me, then would i teach transgressors his way and he said these are the people i want you to teach my way and don’t be afraid to give them my word all i want you to do is point them to me so ronnie and i were on board we thought this would be great And for years, we counseled people, didn’t charge anything. It was just a joy for us because it was our assignment.
SPEAKER 03 :
And Jackie is an ordained minister, marriage counselor, reporter, TV producer, radio and TV personality. And this ministry that she and Ronnie had, they helped so many couples. So give us a couple of examples. Again, of course, you’re not using names of things that people… would think you could never come back from, which I think cheating is a big one, drugs, cheating, and then, you know, not working, like not like having one spouse provide. That’s very stressful financially. You had children, too, of course, to care for. So tell us about some of the things that you helped couples overcome and maybe some tips for people that are going through some similar situations. Should we start with maybe an example of cheating and, you know, maybe there’s a combination of things the couple was dealing with?
SPEAKER 04 :
Well, that was our claim to fame was that by word of mouth, people were sharing that if your husband or you have, if there’s infidelity in the marriage, you should go to see the Calloways.
SPEAKER 03 :
Wow.
SPEAKER 04 :
But don’t go if you don’t want to hear the truth. Okay. And we had couples. to come to us from all over, all over the United States, really, because we had a website which got lost on the internet some kind of way. But people came to us, and we had couples, women that would come and say, my husband has been cheating, and I’m going to leave him and all of this. And After they would talk to me or after they would read the book, Love That Would Not Let Me Go, they would say, if you did this, then I believe I could do it. We had a, there was one, we were also on the 700 Club. They interviewed us, came and did a program. And so people saw that. And they contacted us. And then we did on the own network, Oprah Winfrey’s network, a reenactment. They did a reenactment of our story. And I had a lady that said, are you Jackie Calloway? And I said, yes. She said, I saw you on television. Yes. Do you want counseling? Yes, she gave me, I gave her my card. She said she stuck it in her husband’s face and told him, go, you know, call these people. But she didn’t want to get back with him. Long story short, he called Ronnie begging to help him because he wanted his family back. Ronnie counseled him, I counseled her, and they got back together. We did their, they redid their vows down at the Brown Palace Hotel. It was just a beautiful story. We married couples. We had a millionaire to send for us on the East Coast. We went there, they put us up in the hotel, and we counseled them. When we went there, they wouldn’t even look at each other. And when we left, they were in each other’s arms. So God did miraculous things, and time just would not permit for me to share with you all of the miracles we saw in different couples.
SPEAKER 03 :
It just makes my heart sink. So these are marriages that would have disintegrated.
SPEAKER 04 :
Yes, absolutely. So many women just, you know, that is a terrible wound for your husband to cheat on you. Because you feel like that should be the sacred legacy.
SPEAKER 03 :
Yes, yes. But you can come back from that. You were an example. And then he’s pretty blunt to the guys. And then you worked with the women, too. I mean, I know you worked with them as couples, but goodness gracious.
SPEAKER 04 :
And Ronnie would tell the guys, they would come in and they’re saying, well, it’s like this, this, and this. And Ronnie would say, listen. Don’t tell that lie. I told that lie for five years. Tell me something else. And he would confront the men, I mean boldly, and show them how to woo their wives. You know, it was beautiful for me to watch him. And we would be in seminars. We did seminars all across America.
SPEAKER 03 :
Oh, you did? Oh, that’s so wonderful.
SPEAKER 04 :
For different churches. I even went to Africa, and we had a church in the Grand Cayman Islands to bring us to their church to do a seminar and a cruise. We did a cruise for them, and we did seminars on their cruise. And it has just been wonderful to see God, because the marriage ministry was the Word. That’s what the Lord told us. I just want you to point them to me. So we gave them the Word with a little bit of experience thrown in, you know. And we shared with couples what worked.
SPEAKER 03 :
I that’s it’s mind boggling to me because, you know, so many times they think I think back to Kathie Lee Gifford and how people the world was just stomping all over her when she got back with Frank, the big football player, Frank Gifford. And there was video evidence that he cheated on her and people, you know, she’s a strong Christian and people all over the world. I can’t believe it. She was such a wimp, basically, for getting back together with him. I dump him like a hot potato and all these people. But they continued to have a wonderful marriage right up until he died. And they had children. And they had a long marriage. And a lot of times the world doesn’t understand why Christians want to forgive and mend a marriage and realize that people have shortcomings. I mean, it certainly is… I mean, probably about the most unforgivable seemingly thing that but that’s what we’re taught is forgiveness, you know, and that that I just love that you were able to help so many marriages and your own story. I know was such an inspiration to people getting married in the 60s, being married for almost 30 years. Getting a divorce. He was cheating, using drugs. He wasn’t working enough. He just wasn’t a good husband. Divorce for seven. And then this wonderful marriage for almost 30 years again. You know, I mean, unbelievable that you had that halftime and then had this. I mean, that. It’s kind of almost unheard of. I mean, I’ve heard a few examples of this, but not many. We’re almost out of time, Mrs. Jackie. Again, till death do us part, a marriage God’s way, Mrs. Jackie Calloway. And let me just give everyone her email and her website. And it’s still rjcalloway at gmail.com for your Gmail. Is that right?
SPEAKER 04 :
Correct.
SPEAKER 03 :
RJ Calloway. And then if you want to get in touch with her, Jackie Calloway, P.O. Box 473368, Aurora, Colorado 80047. And you can always go back on the podcast and go back and listen to this again. And then you’ve got about 45 seconds. Tell us about the book party next week.
SPEAKER 04 :
Yes, our book release party will be held Saturday, November 9th. at the Sam Gehry Library at 2961 Roslyn Street off of Quebec in Denver. And you can also, and that will be from 12 to 2.30, and you can also get the book on Amazon.com. But you can also purchase the book from me, and all the proceeds go to the repair of the Breach Ministry.
SPEAKER 03 :
Well, that’s wonderful. All right, Jackie. Thank you, Angie. Oh, I thank you. It’s such a blessing to have you on again. I’m Jackie’s email, rjcalloway at gmail.com. R for Ronnie, J for Jackie, rjcalloway at gmail.com. Thank you, friend. Thank you. Be blessed.
SPEAKER 01 :
Thank you for listening to The Good News with Angie Austin on AM670 KLTT.
