Dua Lipa & Callum Turner are everywhere right now. So are Zendaya and Tom Holland. Stylish. Young. Magnetic. The darling couples that the media and the internet cannot stop raving about.
But the real influencers…the kind that actually shape you - are rarely the ones with the most followers. They remain relatively unknown.
One such couple - I've had the privilege of knowing up close - are Dr. Prakash and Elsie. The modern day Priscilla and Aquila. Just two people so committed to Christ and each other that their influence quietly and permanently changed everyone in their orbit.
This army of two was the kind that "put ten thousand to flight."
Dr. Prakash went to be with the Lord yesterday. And the best way I know how to honor him is to tell you about the marriage he built alongside Elsie - because our generation could greatly benefit from seeing a healthy marriage model.
Here are 5 takeaways from their relationship that made them stand out as more than just "a happy couple."
1. They Put God Before Their Marriage
They weren't just husband and wife. They were a team with a mission. They discipled believers, counseled couples, opened their home, gave generously - and they did it together. Not two people running parallel ministries. One team. One direction.
A relationship survives when the mission is bigger than the marriage itself. Couples who worship each other eventually collapse under the weight of expectation. Couples who worship God find themselves pulling in the same direction.
2. They Invested Wisely
Priscilla and Aquila had their tent-making. Prakash and Elsie had theirs.
They were higher-ed educators by profession. But they were known more for their work for the Lord - modeling parenting, counseling countless young adults, preaching, serving in roles that shaped future leaders - and doing it without drawing attention to themselves.
The phrase that defined them: knives sharpening each other. But it wasn't just each other they sharpened. No one who came in contact with this couple walked away blunt.
We watch couples become so focused on building their life together that they stop being useful to anyone outside it. The strongest marriages don't become insulated. They become multipliers. They make everyone around them stronger.
3. They Had Zero Ego Between Them
Both came from well-known, respected families. Both were high IQ, accomplished, passionate in their fields. And somehow - neither of them had anything to prove. They were the most down-to-earth couple you'd ever meet.
Their pride didn't come from their credentials or earthly accomplishments. It came from their identity in Christ. It’s what made everyone feel welcome around them. It gave them contentment and peace even when life handed them lemons.
Here’s a detail from Scripture that makes my case. In four of the six times Priscilla and Aquila are mentioned in the Bible, Priscilla's name appears first. The man didn't have a problem with that. Prakash was the same - he played Aquila quite often, and without apology. No one-upmanship. No ego to protect. They were a team.
A secure relationship is one where you celebrate each other’s strengths and wins without feeling threatened.
4. They Shared the Same Calling
Compatibility is one of the most overused and least understood words in Christian dating. We've reduced it to: same music taste, same love language, same aesthetic. And then we wonder why they fall apart when real life hits.
One of Elsie’s favorite analogies for a Christian relationship is the Triangle.
God at the top. Husband and wife at the two bottom corners. The closer each person moves toward God, the closer they move toward each other.
They lived out this diagram in their own marriage to the T.
Shared direction beat shared interests every time. A couple committed to moving closer to Christ will survive storms that sink couples who are merely compatible.
5. Unfazed by Anything, Even Death
Most wedding vows end with til death do us part. Prakash and Elsie never seemed to operate like that was the finish line.
For them, marriage was never simply about making it to old age together. They were building something that would outlive them - storing up treasures in heaven where moth and rust can't touch and thieves can't get to.
And because their eyes were fixed on eternity, they glided through the hardest seasons with a peace that genuinely didn't make sense from the outside. That's not a good mental health habit. That's a worldview - to know we are sojourners and pilgrims and our citizenship is in heaven. And it changes everything about how you do life and how you do marriage.
The TL;DR
Priscilla and Aquila's marriage isn't hopelessly romantic. Very little is known about them. No miracles on record. No viral moment.But they housed Apostle Paul - one of Christianity's greatest missionaries. They discipled Apollos, the firebrand preacher. They strengthened churches across the ancient world. And they did it together - quietly, faithfully, without seeking centerstage.
Prakash and Elsie’s story is the same. Only eternity will reveal the Apollos and the Pauls they unleashed into the world.
The end? Not even close.
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