"...I proposed to Theresa in front of the Holy Family at a grotto dedicated to Our Lady of Fatima..."
Chris's Story
Would you be able to search for something for 35 years? 35 YEARS???!!! Well, what if you knew, that at the end of this search was a peace and a joy that you could not imagine? My search for the person that God had chosen for me to share my life with took that long. Coincidentally, it coincided with my gift of faith from God. Was it a coincidence? No, not at all. This was planned out, for sure. St. Anthony explains it perfectly when he says, "God says to the single person, searching for the one that He has planned for them You see, until you are ready (and even at this minute I desire to have you both ready at the same time), until you are both satisfied with Me and the life that I have prepared for you, you will not be able to experience the love that exemplifies our relationship with Me-and this is perfect love." He made sure my faith was strong. Very important, since He had chosen someone for me that has 3 children. Without God helping me to understand that being a father is a calling and an honor it would have been overwhelming for sure. I started my search on St. Raphael when I realized that my search criteria had changed changed from searching for someone who would have me at the center of their lives to someone who had God at the center of their lives. God had to wait quite a while for me to change my thoughts of, "me, me, me" to "here I am God, do with me what you want". And as many of us learn, once we give our lives over to God they become anything but boring and dull.
So, He led me to this website. I met many people and had some great friendships. I emailed Theresa in January of 2002. She didnt respond to my email till February of 2002. Again, God was taking the needed time to prepare us, before bringing us together. After Theresa responded to my letter, in which I responded sarcasti! cally back, "umm, Theresa who?" we exchanged emails for 3 days in a row and then planned a meeting at a Barnes and Nobles for coffee for day 4 of our relationship. Pretty quick, eh? (We live about 2 hours from each other) I cant admit to love at first site, but, there was something there that did not allow me to place this meeting into one of my many "first dates, that wouldnt turn into a second date" encounters. So, over the next 7 months we emailed each other and called each other and drove 2 hours to meet each other and prayed with each other and went to church together and met each others families and did all the usual "getting to know you" things. And here I am, 8 months later and lo and behold God has placed in my life the person that I had thought could not be out there. I proposed to Theresa in front of the Holy Family at a grotto dedicated to Our Lady of Fatima on October 5, 2002.We are now looking forward to ou! r lives together with God at the helm. Thank you to St. Raphael and God bless everyone in their search. Theresa's Story
It is God that led both of us to St. Raphaels after some discouraging relationships that were not God-centeredwe both knew that it would be a challenge to find someone special who shared the same faith and values that we held so dearly. Where do we start looking for someone like that??
Chris wrote me shortly after I joined in January of 2002, but being that he was single and I was a parent of three children, I thought maybe I should stay focused on someone with children. Even though I liked what I read in his profile, I chose not to write him at that time. During that time I met several nice people, but I kept drifting back to Chriss profile. I realized that I was being narrow-minded in my search and that I maybe cheating myself by not opening my heart more to what God had in mind! for me. After a month went by, I decided to take a chance and finally write Chris. We immediately "clicked" in our emails and I found Chriss sarcastic sense of humor quite charming. We shared so much in common with our past relationships and we both had a love of our faith that instantly bonded us, so in less than a week, after talking on the phone, despite the two hour drive, we decided to meet in person. Yeah, you could call that kind of fast, but I had a "good" feeling about this meeting and in the few days we wrote each other, I felt I knew so much about Chris already!
I cant say there were fireworks the first time we set eyes on each other, but after spending the day with Chris, which also included sharing mass together, there was something about him that led me to want to see him again and continue writing himand continue writing we did!! We continued to use St. Raphael as our "touch point" to write and chat ! with each other and we have continued to see each other almost every weekend since. We continue to celebrate mass and pray together, letting God and the Blessed Mother lead us as our love for one another grows. Also, my children have met Chris and have grown quite attached to him and vice versahe possesses many virtues that would assist him in the role of a stepfather with St. Joseph as his model!
God has been the center of this relationship since the onset and it is an awesome and wonderful experience when God is leading a particular couple on a special journey togetherwe have decided to continue our journey after our membership is done on St. Raphael and presently are planning our future lives together now that we are engagedwe have no doubts that God has always had our meeting plannedHe was just waiting until we were both ready at the same time!
Be patient and prayerful and God will do the same for you!
Theresa and Chris will be married on June 21, 2003
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