God's Faithfulness Part II

As promised, here's my story of how God was faithful in providing my wonderful husband Greg.

After being legally separated for 9 years and divorced for 1 1/2, I started to feel that maybe I could look ahead to marriage with hope, instead of dread. I felt a hunger to read books on Christian courting instead of American dating. I read books by Christian authors about waiting, doing it right, being the right person instead of finding the right person. I began to pray "God, don't bring anyone into my life unless it is the person you have for me. I don't want any false starts. I don't want my kids to become attached to someone only to lose them and have their hearts broken. I will wait for your choice, no matter who it is, no matter how long it takes." Sometimes my prayers were, "Okay, where's mine?" Impatience crept in from time to time but I held fast to waiting.

About a year after I started reading books and praying about this, God spoke to Greg. He was also praying for a spouse but held fast to "You make the decision, Lord." As Greg looked around the sanctuary one Sunday morning and his eyes landed on me, God whispered "She's the one." Greg said, "Oh, no, Lord, not her. She's too good." God confirmed "She's the one."

Over the next six months, Greg tried to just say hi to me at church and have short conversations. He attended one of my classes. I attended one of his, not knowing God was being a matchmaker. I never considered Greg. He wasn't my type. Red headed missionary. Definitely not on my list of desired attributes, but God knew my heart better than I did.

We attended a small group leader's retreat, and he asked what me and my friend were doing for dinner that night. I said I would talk to her and get back to him. Over the next few hours, God stirred my heart. I had an overwhelming desire to have dinner with him that night. On the way home my friend asked me what I thought of Greg. I was honest and said that I hoped my next husband would be able to help provide a 2-story house and a new car and I didn't think this ex-missionary had any means to do so. She said, "I'd rather live in a grass hut with a leaky roof with a man who adored me than in a mansion with a man who didn't even care." Boy was that what I needed to hear. That put everything into perspective for me. I never thought of myself as materialistic, but that showed me I had a major case of white picket fence syndrome and needed to concentrate on what really mattered in a marriage. God looks at the heart, and so should we.

Over the next few months, his chivalry swept me off my feet. The opened doors, letting me enter rooms first, he made me feel like a princess. I don't think I've ever been treated so well and he still treats me this way. There are a lot of details I have left out, but if you are interested, let me know and I'll give them to you. We had a wonderful courtship, wedding, and have a wonderful marriage. We are both grateful to God and his wisdom for choosing us for each other. Left up to our own desires and decisions, we could have ended up making the wrong decision and been miserable. Marriage is way too important a decision to be made without giving total control to God. We're talking a life-long partner here, complete with a family tree. God knows best. Have the patience to trust Him and His timing.