I'm glad this has worked well for you. Support like this can come in many forms. For my husband, it was being accepted by and loved by my own family - seeing that there is such a thing as functionality and kindness in relationships of family. It was nothing like a mentorship situation - just consistency and constancy over time.

We've sort of "taken in" several people into our own family over the last 10 years. Both of my older kids invited their significant others into our home, knowing we were willing and accepting of others. These were people who came from broken backgrounds and they, too, needed time to realize we are people who can be trusted to be supportive and honest. In no way did we taken on the "parental mentor" role with them; they were adults. But we respected them and welcomed them into our family life and our home as equal members of our family.

Your model of church support by a couple is probably not realistic as an option for most people, but that idea of finding a support system is important. I don't think we all need "parental figures" to find that support though - simply supports that are honest and accepting and consistent.