It was January of 2008 and Renee was standing near the clock of New York’s Grand Central Station. The 26-year-old librarian was waiting for her long-distance date to arrive and hoping this one would represent a clean break with what had been her recent dating luck.
Renee had gone through several disappointing experiences with men she called “only Catholic by name,” and joined CatholicMatch in response to what she discerned as a call from God to find a man with whom she could truly share her faith.
A long-distance relationship wasn’t what she had in mind, but Renee wasn’t closed off to the idea. And when 24-year-old Sean, in training to be an Army pilot, appeared in her search, she was interested.
“I thought he seemed intelligent, athletic and most importantly, faith-filled,” she recalled. Sean’s location in Alabama gave Renee pause, but his profile also said he would make frequent trips to the Northeast. “I decided not rule him out,” she said. “(Then) he was the one to make first contact, sending me a humorous emotigram to get the conversation rolling.”
The emotigram led to messages, which became daily phone conversations, which brings us two months later to Renee waiting near the clock in Grand Central for Sean to arrive. The time they spent together only energized what they felt for each other.
“We found we shared a similar sense of humor and both enjoyed being active,” she told CatholicMatch. “We were excited to have each found someone to whom we were attracted and who also shared our convictions. When he flew out at the end of the weekend, I knew we had something special.”
When a long-distance relationship comes together, it takes a little help from Divine Providence to handle the practical difficulties that arise and help was forthcoming for Sean and Renee. The first came on his initial visit to New York. Renee was working at a seminary that had been converted into a retreat house, and the priests gave Sean a room for the weekend. And with Sean’s dad being an airline pilot, the costs of their subsequent travel was lessened. Sean flew to New York several more times before the spring was out, Renee made two trips to Alabama and they each made a special visit to see the other’s siblings.
The smooth flow of the relationship was something that stood out for Renee, particularly compared with her previous experiences and she attributes that Christ being at the center. “We always attended Mass together,” she said. “And he accompanied me to my weekly hour at the Adoration chapel whenever he could.”
Today, Sean and Renee have three daughters and are building a life in Colorado.
