“IN WHATEVER we’re doing, whether it’s at church, at home, our neighbors, ball, or whatever it may be, we just try to love on people,” Renea Rice said. And that goal captures the essence of the Rice family. Rice serves teens and young adults with Tullahoma City school buses and the Fellowship of Christian Athletes (FCA). Her husband, Matthew, serves daily in his work as a Murfreesboro police officer. They and their three kids are a tight-knit family, and a wonderful example of the Tullahoma community.
Matthew and Renea were high school sweethearts. They started dating in 2007, when she was 16 and he was 18, and married in 2013. In the first few years of their marriage, they went through infertility and a tragic miscarriage, but the experience only drew them closer together.
“We just trust the Lord in whatever he may hand us,” Renea said. “Whatever he lets come our way, we know it’s gone through his hands.”
Now their kids — twins in kindergarten, and a 3-year-old — are as much a part of the family’s service mindset as Renea and Matthew. Aside from teaching them about faith and the service God calls for, Renea said they try to serve where the kids can participate.
“We try to do things that we can involve them in, like cooking a meal for somebody that’s just had a baby, or somebody that’s sick, or doing yard work for somebody,” Renea said.
The family also loves to spend time together and with friends. They love hiking, riding bikes, and taking walks — anything that involves playing outside. They are also very involved with their church, Grace Baptist.
While her family is her most significant investment, FCA is a close second. There, she volunteers as a character coachfor the Motlow softball team and the Tullahoma High School girls basketball team. There, she said, she does life with the kids.
“We have a devotional, read scripture, and see how God loves us and how we can be like Him more,” Renea said. “For Motlow … we’ll take a meal either before, during, or after the games. So we feed them; we feed them physically, and we feed them spiritually.”
Matthew and Renea’s 11 years of marriage haven’t been without struggle or hardship, but Renea said their success as a couple and as members of the community comes from their focus on God.
“When you have Him as the center of your marriage and the center of your family, He gives His peace,” Renea said. “It’s a peace that passes all understanding.”
Renea said that the Rice family tries its best to love Jesus and love people through everything. They are dedicated to serving others in good times and bad.
“That is our family motto,” Renea said. “As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.” GN
