What God hath joined together…

Today I am including the love story of a young lady that has come in and out of our lives a couple of times.  This is a story that represents the model expressed in the Bible on several levels.  It shows the proper relationship of a daughter towards the authority and counsel of her dad; and illustrates how a father is a safety net for his family; a teaching mother who cared to journal aspects of the story for the edification of the couple at a later time; the three generations principle of leadership and example (referred to many times in Scripture); and a God who honors and blesses those who follow the principles of His Word.  I have included only excerpts of the story and have hidden identities since I didn’t ask permission to reprint this.  I hope you will be blessed by this.   There should be nothing extraordinary about this story, but sadly, this is not the case. 

My Dear Friends,
I don't even know where to begin. This Christmas is by far the best one I have ever had!....let me tell you my story! Two years ago on December 3rd my family and I met the H family. It was not until the following September that we started getting to know this family more closely. I knew that J (the oldest of the H children) was working as a campaign manager for several local political candidates here in the state of Maine. My dad and I asked him what I might be able to do to get involved.
I began to struggle with a growing attraction to J. Over the past year our two families have grown very close and have spent a great deal of time together playing volleyball, riding the jet ski, playing vintage baseball and doing our favorite thing--sitting around the living room singing. J had become a great friend, but could never be anything more to me because I had committed my heart to my dad and the Lord until the Lord gave me permission to share it with someone else.

I grew to admire J a GREAT deal and would frequently go to my parents to "unload" and tell them how I was doing! My parents would always listen and encourage me to keep my eyes focused on Christ and the things that He had for me right then. It has been an amazing process as the Lord has been teaching me to rely on Him for my sufficiency. Little did I know that while they were encouraging me to guard my heart and leave it in the Lord's hands, J was already pursuing me! On April 12th J went to my dad and asked for permission to court me. Over the past eight months my dad and J have been meeting once a week and talking on the phone as they have gotten to know each other, and have come to love each other as father and son. During this whole time they were praying that God would put a veil over my eyes and keep me from knowing what was going on, in case this was not of the Lord.

Dad asked me what I would want for Christmas if I could have anything I wanted. I didn't answer for a minute, and then told him my honest answer--A courtship proposal!   I was really struggling with this strong desire to start a courtship (with someone in particular!) and I just needed to share my heart with my dad. He encouraged me to stay focused on the Lord and said some things that made me pretty sure there was nothing going on.

As we were heading back up the stairs he referred to that day in the future when a courtship would begin and said, "It will seem like just yesterday that we had this conversation."  Later that evening I spoke with my dad's mom and found out that she and her husband were joining us for supper with the H’s on Christmas Eve. This seemed a little odd to me but I went to sleep that night pouring out my heart to the Lord and asking for his grace to leave my Isaac on the altar.

Before supper we all sat in the living room to sing a few Christmas carols and then Dad asked J to pray for supper. As soon as J finished praying he went on to say that he had two things to share. It is not unusual for J to share what the Lord has been doing in his life so I thought nothing of it, but I had not given up all hope either!  He started to tell of someone that had come to mean a lot to him in the last several months, and although he didn't say any names, he did refer to the individual as being a man (STINK!) I was sitting there fighting a mental battle between hope that maybe he would pursue me and my logical reasoning that it wasn't going to happen. As he spoke of this man that had discipled, prayed, and cried with him, he turned to face me and said "Through this process I have come to know somebody else, and that brings me to you. B, would you give me the honor and privilege of winning your heart with the sincere desire for marriage?" (I couldn't breathe!!!) He then told me that I didn't have to give him an answer right away. "Are you kidding?" I said. "Yes, YES, YES!!!!!!!!"

Wow! Let's just say that I was floating on cloud 9 and looking at my family in utter amazement! Since that night J and I have been able to spend a lot of time just talking and reading the precious journal that my mom kept over the past eight months. We are both just in awe of what God has done. He has truly blessed us far beyond what we could ask or think. Neither one of us ever anticipated the sweetness a relationship can have when God is the creator of it.

Love,
B

"Now unto Him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us. Unto Him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus throughout all ages, world without end. Amen" Ephesians 3:20-21

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