Thirty-six, never married, and weary from a tough breakup, Karen gathered her courage to give the CatholicMatch site a try.
After a long break from dating, Chris, thirty-eight and never married, took his mom’s suggestion to sign up on CatholicMatch.
Karen found Chris within a week. What caught her eye on his profile was what he was looking for in a potential match. “The purpose of any relationship is to help each other get into heaven.”
“This guy gets it!” she thought.
She messaged him. To her delight, his deep, thoughtful reply surprised her. A week later, after some technical difficulties between a smart phone and a flip phone, Chris and Karen connected just after her birthday.
Thus began a habit of long, nightly phone calls. Chris claimed he sometimes had difficulty opening up to people, but that didn’t seem to be the case talking with Karen.
Even so, things didn’t heat up for them right away. Chris said he was looking for friendship, though he was open for more. Karen worried the online connection might not hold up in person, and wanted to know sooner than later if their friendship had any potential to turn into more.
They arranged to meet at Karen’s home in Cincinnati for the Super Bowl. Neither felt an instant physical attraction, as they had both been focused on other types in the past, but they had a nice time watching the game. He was impressed that she liked wings, and she was impressed by his willingness to pray before dinner.
The fateful Valentine's Day date
Later that week after more connecting on the phone, Chris asked to see her on Valentine’s Day. Karen invited him over for dinner. He brought her a rose, but she wasn’t sure of Chris’ intentions. Was this a date or were they simply consoling each other as friends over a difficult holiday?
It wasn’t until they were sitting on the couch watching a movie when he put his arm around her that she knew. Later, he kissed her. At the end of the movie, Chris mentioned he liked to dance. Karen put on some Michael Buble and they slow danced in the living room. It would be the first of many evenings spent dancing together.
What brought them together, ultimately, was getting to know each other on the inside, and seeing each other through God’s eyes.
Our attraction grew slowly
“One day I was suddenly struck by how hot he was! He would caress my face and talk about how beautiful I am. Being a big girl, I've always had issues believing that men can find me beautiful and attractive. It took some time, but Chris eventually broke down that wall and made me feel completely accepted.”
In early March, while attending Mass at Our Lady of the Rosary in Dayton, Karen was thanking God in prayer for showing her the example of a good man like Chris when she heard God say, “I created him for you.”
To her surprise, she prayerfully asked if Chris was meant to be her husband, and He replied, “That depends on the two of you.”
“The few months were a whirlwind of romance,” Karen said. They went back and forth between Dayton and Cincinnati with fun dates and lots of late nights up talking.
Chris was overwhelmed with love for Karen, but when he told her he loved her, her fear of revealing her true feelings delayed her answer until the next day. “Chris loves me more completely and intensely than I have ever imagined possible. I always say that he is not the guy I expected, but he is everything I've ever wanted… he makes our faith the priority in this relationship.”
The summer months were full of family visits, a couple’s vacation, travels, and a family reunion. Chris told Karen to “expect a ring before turning on the heat for the winter.”
On their seven month anniversary, September 14th, Chris texted Karen at work to meet him at a church for confession. Karen didn’t think she needed confession, but agreed to the opportunity to grow together. Chris waited outside the little church office while Karen met with the priest.
Upon her exit, Chris said, “Now that we have received God's mercy and are in a perfect state of grace, this is the perfect time to ask you this."
Chris got on one knee and pulled out a ring.
“Karen Sue, will you marry me?”
After Karen said yes, the couple went to the adoration chapel to light a candle and pray together. After a celebratory dinner at a steakhouse, the perfect night was topped off with a full rainbow over Karen’s apartment, which felt like a message from her mom and a blessing from heaven.
The couple will be married on July 14th, 2018.
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