Lourdes and Juan are a young couple from Valencia with three children, aged 4, 6, and 8. Lourdes works as a psychologist at the Guadalaviar school, and Juan runs a gym.
When they began dating, Juan wasn’t a believer, although he did share many Christian values. Lourdes, on the other hand, was Catholic. She had already become a supernumerary member of Opus Dei. She says that this difference with Juan was never an issue because she knew he was a very good person; they connected, shared key beliefs, and respected one another.
When they got married and started having children, they had to learn to adapt and complement each other. Juan says that he was deeply impacted by the influence of his wife’s Christian formation in the early years of their marriage.
The first years of marriage were the most difficult, they say, and their first pregnancy came soon after, while Juan was struggling to get his small business off the ground. He needed time, including to practice various sports. At this point, Juan thought he might be a bit selfish for not dedicating more time to looking after the children.
For Juan, his wife’s cheerful attitude, her patience, and never reproaching him, influenced him to gradually get involved in programs of spiritual formation for parents offered at the school where Lourdes worked, and to slowly discover the faith. At the same time, Juan greatly valued the formation their children received at school, as he saw how they were taught to think critically and were educated in Christian values.
Mutual respect, freedom, understanding, affection, and joy are constants in the life of this happy couple, who love one another without measure.