Sitting across the pews

My mom and dad met when they were 13 years old. They started dating at the age of 15. My dad was the oldest of seven and felt an immense amount of pressure of move out after graduation get married and settle down. A year after graduation the wedding bells rang and Angela Penterman became Angela Warta. My dad spent the next year of their marriage training to become a firefighter, having no money my mom worked 2 jobs and ran the house supporting them both in every was possible. One year later I was born. My parents rarely ever saw eachother because my dad was in Elkgrove or Southern California recieving his credentials and training. When I was born once again my mom was left at home by herself to care for now a newborn and bring in the income. When I reached the age of 11/2 years old my dad had finally established his career but my parents had become completely separate people. My dad admits to me to this day he still does not know who he is because he relied on my mom to guide him through life and show him which way he was supposed to go. My mom began the relationship holding the responsibility of the family on her shoulders and never let go allowing my dad to lead the homestead.
After purchasing property and building their own house my parents continued to have more children. My dad was always at work and was not involved in me and Keagan's lives till we were 12 and 10. At that point two more children were born, taking up the majority of my parents focus. The fighting began my freshman year of high school. I'm not talking about fighting like yelling I'm talking about the kind when things are thrown, and screaming fills house almost 24/7. My parents were done. My mom was done carrying the responsibility of the house on her shoulders, my dad didn't know who he was or who his children were and nobody was acting like a mature adult. My sophomore year of high school my dad moved out. Once again the pressure was put solely on my mom as she carried the weight of the family. You may tell me that God needed to be involved and they should've seeked the help of Christian counselors. To that I respond, my parents invested thousands of dollars in every counselor they could get their hands on. My parents didn't miss a Sunday of church even if it meant sitting across the pew from eachother. They eventually moved back in together my junior year and tried to work things out.
My senior year approached and my mom and two younger siblings moved out. For one semester I lived with my dad and brother. One thing important in the equation is that when my dad was born he was born with several birth defects. He was born and was not expected to live and if he did he would never be able to walk. His legs were completely crippled, with a clubbed foot. Through miracle after miracle and over 10 surgerys my dad to this day can walk and not only walk but is a fire captain. Last December my dad had several medical tests done on him. Through the medical tests they discovered that my dad also had some mental disabilities that were produced from the trauma in the womb. My dad suffered from a light form of Azburgers and ADD along with severe anxiety. Currently my dad has moved out and is living on his own.
That is my story. My parents refuse to divorce because of the fact that it is against the Bible. However my high school career was spent with them primarily separated. My parents were not ready to get married young. My dad didn't know who he was. My mom was not ready to hold the responsibility of a family on her shoulders at 19.
I refuse to quote the artical. I refuse to use scientific research. Each human is different, therefore statistics are invalid.
There CANNOT be a set age for one to get married. Marriage is compared to our relationship with Christ. If this is true, we all have our different walks and age when we begin our relaisonhip with Christ. The same is with marriage. There should not be a pressure from society on what age is the "correct" age to get married. That pressure is like the pressure from the church that they need to convert every "year one Sunday school student" into a Christian ASAP, it becomes a legalistic approach. My parents needed to figure out who they were outside of high school, my dad may have discovered his disabilities mentally if he had not clung to my mom for all support. I'm not saying they should have gotten married at 30, but a couple years would have done them better. To reiterize, one cannot put an age on marriage and it makes me so angry when I read articals stating "getting married young is better" "getting married older is better" NO it's the same thing as saying "becoming a Christian (the earlier the better)", "becomjng a Christian late in life is better". No one can Judge this or make the "right" decision". Divorce has nothing to do with what age you get married, late or early in life. Divorce has to do with the commitment that the couple has to the lord at whatever age they become one flesh.  Marriage is not for everyone. Marriage can be for the old. Marriage can be for the young. What's important is that when two people gather together they keep Christ at the center in stead of one of the spouses.
FYI (I love my parents and respect them immensely, I don't agree with all their descisions, but they are some of the most special and devoted people to the Lord. My dad has made extreme progress and someday God is going to use them in extreme ways)