By Bobby O’Neal

I HAVE never questioned my faith in God, but several years ago I did question his purpose for my life. In response to my questions, I was given a mission of love – and this mission was based on a personal necessity: to save my own marriage.

Like most modern couples, my wife Nanci and I were leading busy lives.

We were both working and raising a family, and we felt we did not have enough time in the day to do everything that was expected of us.

Our relationship was not receiving the attention it deserved, and before we knew it, our marriage was in trouble. We had slowly drifted apart. Instead of giving up on our marriage, I prayed for help.

The message I received changed our life together, and it has touched the lives of thousands of couples around the world.

It took a lot of faith to listen to God’s message. I have always felt that when we ask God for help through prayer, we often receive his guidance during meditation. The more    I prayed, the more I became convinced that God was telling me to create a relationship board game. Since my professional background is in forestry, I questioned this guidance. I was afraid of taking a risk, worried about failure and concerned about what others would say. “A forestry guy creating a relationship game? He must have been out in the bush too long!”

But when I finally accepted this mission, there was a tremendous flood of love and support. My faith has strengthened with every order and testimonial for our relationship game, which is called Syncrohearts.

In developing the game, I felt God’s presence every step of the way. I give my wife a lot of credit for trusting in God’s plan. Our faith was really tested when we signed the papers for a third mortgage on our home to help finance this venture.

I am sure Nanci questioned my sanity at times, but the way events came together helped to strengthen her faith.

In spring 2007, my wife and son booked flights to fly to London, Ontario, for my father-in-law’s 75th birthday.

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Earlier that year, I had auditioned for the reality CBC TV program Dragons’ Den. This show provides an opportunity for budding entrepreneurs to pitch their products to five wealthy and ruthless investors, in the hopes of getting financing.

One  night, I had a dream that the producers for this show were going to contact me.

Sure enough, the next day I received a phone call confirming that I had made the final cut for the show. This news was exciting enough, but the timing was amazing.

The producers wanted me in Toronto the same day that my wife and son had pre-booked their flights to Ontario. I was so grateful to have them with me; it reminded me once again that I was not in charge.

God’s plan for this love game was clear. It was not meant to be just a Christian game, but a relationship game that would appeal to the secular world, too. Based on God’s love, Syncrohearts was created to help promote love, laughter, intimacy and improved communications for all relationships.

The game takes about an hour to play. Both partners move around a game board, drawing a card on each turn from one of four sets. The cards offer insights into relationships, ask couples to talk about their feelings  or suggest activities the couple can do together.

Syncrohearts has become a popular gift for weddings, anniversaries and for those times when couples just want some more quality fun time together. Thousands of games have been sold around the world, with online orders from Australia, Finland and even Iran.

I have been invited to Atlanta, Georgia to appear on the Christian talk show View From the Pew at the end of June.

Nanci and I donate partial proceeds to the Zajac Ranch for Children.

This love mission has taught me to have total trust in God’s plan for our lives. If a ‘forestry guy’ can become ‘Dr. Love,’ then anything is possible when God calls.  

Syncrohearts is available in some stores. It can also be ordered by contacting: syncrohearts.com or 604.855.LOVE.

May 2010