I shower every day. I should say I am showered ever day. God showers me with blessings that I can’t even begin to fathom. I am married to my best friend. Through her God has given me two beautiful little girls. She stays at home with them and she is an amazing mother to them.
God started leading me to her just over 7 years ago. I was a college student and was searching for where I belonged. A good friend of mine was just getting involved with the campus Parish. I thought this might be a good place for me to start. I started attending a Bible study and later daily Mass. I soon made a lot of friends there and was attending daily Mass. It was at 10 PM so it fit perfectly with a college schedule. I had found where I belonged, but now I wondered where God was leading me. It was the end of the spring semester and I returned to my hometown to work on my dad’s farm/ranch for the summer.
While I was home that summer, I missed my community at the Newman Center. My brothers were both dating girls and my sisters were a lot younger and busy with their lives. My parents have always been involved in just about everything, so they were busy with their involvements. I was alone in the middle of nowhere. That summer helped me grow a lot and though I struggled with missing my community, I was able to discern that God was calling me to the married life and I just had to wait until he showed me the girl.
Starting school the next fall, I was excited to get back to my friends and excited to see what God had in store for me. I immediately got more involved in the Newman Center. There was a lot to do and I really enjoyed it. However, waiting for God to show me the right girl was hard – I often wondered if he would just whisper it to me or if it would be like a 2x4 to the head. I was hoping for the later, but of course God likes to whisper, too. (see 1 Kings 19:11-13). One night at Mass, I noticed a very pious looking young lady. She was kneeling in the chapel praying next to her friend. After Mass, we just happened to be leaving at the same time. I held the door for her and her friend, and she smiled at me. She was very pretty, but not the type of girl that is too good to talk to an average guy like myself. She had a beautiful smile and her bluish-green eyes shined.
A week later, some of the people from the Newman Center decided to go dancing. I decided to ask if this girl, who had been coming to Mass each night, would like to go. Of course as things work, she said she had to go to a birthday party that night. I was ready to give up – and its times like that when God does bring out the 2x4. Over the next few weeks, I had opportunities to talk to this young lady and got to know her. Of course, as I got to know her, I found she grew even more beautiful as her inner beauty shined through.
Soon we were talking every night and even chatting online when she was at home and I was in the dorms. We joined a broomball team with some of our mutual friends. It came to be Thanksgiving, and I went back to my hometown for the holiday weekend. The weekend went well, but the whole time I was gone I was thinking about her. I decided that I couldn’t let her get away without another try. There was a concert coming up with the band Rascal Flatts as well as Brad Paisley. I bought a couple of tickets and then asked her to go with me. She agreed to go. The night before that concert, I asked her to be my girlfriend and she agreed!
We started dating in 2002 and dated for three and half years. Like any couple, we had a lot of ups and downs, but we stuck by each other and grew closer. It was great knowing that we were living our calling, but we knew that there was something bigger coming. It would be a life changing event, because once that occurred, there was no her and me – there was only Us.
That’s all for this shower, but there are many more to come. And now, back to my mission…
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