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David and Mary 
Anne: Wedding

 

Marriage
Takes Three

 
 
 

    As I told you, there is so much more to my story that I want to share with you. So let's start from the beginning...

    We were both in our early thirties, and we each felt that it was getting late in life for us. The prospects looked kind ofdim that neither David nor I would ever meet the "right" person and get married.

    In my early adult life, marriage was not a consideration. After graduation from a Catholic high school in St. Louis, Missouri, I entered the convent. Nine years after becoming a nun, while I was stationed in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, I met Oleen Eagle, David’s aunt. Through her active ministry with lay Catholics as well as nuns, I had a life-changing encounter with Jesus Christ - a "born-again" experience while in the convent. (Click here to read my story on How I Discovered True Love.)

    Four years later, I was transferred to Sacramento, California. While there, I felt the Holy Spirit calling me to leave life in the convent and to go back to Pittsburgh. At that point, I had been a nun for 14 years. Oleen and her husband invited me to stay with them. I began working at WPCB-TV40, the Christian television station in Pittsburgh (which is now Cornerstone TeleVision Network or CTVN), where Oleen was employed. At age 32, I was starting my life anew.

    David was originally from the Pittsburgh area. He was graduated from high school the same year I did, then went to college on a football scholarship. While there, he got into trouble and lost his scholarship. This crisis was the vehicle that God used to bring him to the decision to commit his life to Christ.

    Within two months of this conversion experience, David felt God's call to the ministry, so he attended Bible college. For the next 12 years he gave himself completely to ministry - mostly outside the Pittsburgh area. Absorbing himself in his relationship with Christ, and reaching out to help others, enabled him to cope with his own loneliness. During that entire time, no girls ever showed any interest in him, and he never met a girl that he was interested in; therefore, he did not date. For a long time, he entertained the thought that something must be wrong with him.

    Through the divine providence of God, circumstances brought David back to Pittsburgh and he started working at CTVN just one month earlier than I did. He also was 32, alone and still unmarried.

    For two and one-half years, we worked together at the television station - mostly in separate departments. For some reason, we never got along. There was constant teasing and fighting between us. Needless to say, it wasn't a very pleasant relationship. On the weekends, Oleen would take me with her when she visited her sister and her husband: David's parents. Most of the time he acted as though I didn't even exist. He had no interest at all in me. When asked by someone if he would ever consider taking me out, he replied, "No way! She's not my type." And I felt the same.

    I became very discontented in my work and was tired of some of the painful relationships I was experiencing. It seemed to me that at my age, I should have found that special someone who would love me and minister for the Lord with me. After 27 months at CTVN, an opportunity opened up in Phoenix, Arizona, where it seemed I could pursue a ministry of my own. When I visited there, not only did I find a job, but also two proposals for marriage! Surely, this was God's will, I thought. On my return, I handed in my resignation. I was ready to leave, but God stepped into the picture and began to work a miracle.

    A week after I returned from Phoenix, a precious man of God came to CTVN. He was gifted by the Holy Spirit in the Word of Knowledge (In the Bible, see 1 Corinthians 12:8). Through this man, God graciously gave me His direction: "Stay until I tell you to leave. You are in the place where I have called you." I heeded this prophetic word and stayed - retracting my resignation. Looking back, it was a major crossroads in my life. Had I gone to Phoenix, I could have missed God's time of visitation in my life!

    David was at this same meeting, and also received a “Word from God". He had been wondering if he would ever have a mate. Not mentioning this request, he simply asked the man of God to pray for a “need.” This is how the man answered: “I see you opening a gift - in three days, three weeks, or three months." What did this mean? What did it have to do with finding a girl? "Easy enough," David said to himself, "I'll just wait and see what happens." Three days passed, but nothing happened. However, three weeks later, to the day, something did!

     It was around 6 p.m. on a sunny autumn day in early October. As I was driving down the long, steep road at WPCB-TV, where I worked, I wished I were heading home. The way the sun was shining almost made my heart ache it was so beautiful. Single as I was, how I wished I had a boyfriend to share it with. But I was just taking my co-worker and friend, Penny, to the bottom of the hill to meet her husband who was late for an appointment. I had to return to work for four more hours.

     As soon as we got to the bottom, Keith was just pulling up. Penny hopped in their car and drove off. I proceeded to back up my car in the narrow area to turn around and head back to the TV station. I underestimated the drop-off at the edge of the road and felt my rear tires sink down into the ditch beside the road.

     I got out of my car and considered my predicament. Lifting up my eyes to heaven, I asked for help. Unexpectedly, I sensed this strong impression in my heart: "David will always be faithful to you."

     “David”, I said to myself, "What a time to be thinking about him. I have enough problems right now, and certainly didn’t need any more." You see, all we had done over the last two and a half years was clash at work.

     Wondering what this strong impression within me meant, I looked up just then and saw a company van coming down the hill towards me. Help at last! It stopped. The door opened. And to my great surprise, would you believe it was David. After teasing me, “These women drivers... where’s your AAA card?”, he and another man who seemed to appear out of nowhere, lifted up the back of my small yellow Toyota and got my car out of the ditch.

     I was so overjoyed to be rescued from my situation that I impulsively put my arms around David and gave him a great big kiss on the cheek! We had not so much as given each other a friendly hug to this point. David just stood there, surprised.

     I asked him, “Do you want another kiss?” To my amazement he said, “Yes.” So I did; I gave him another kiss on the cheek. From that very hour, David’s eyes began to be opened toward me. It was as if scales fell from them. Suddenly, he began to see me in a whole new light…

    New things immediately began to develop between us. A few weeks later, David had dinner at my apartment on a Sunday afternoon. The Holy Spirit was working so fast in our hearts
that only three days later we both knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that God had brought us together, and that we were to be married!! Within two weeks the wedding date was set. Three months later we were married.

    We have found Jesus Christ to be the Perfect Matchmaker. Just think, He brought me from St. Louis to meet David in Pittsburgh. Even before we were born, He chose us for each other. In fact, we were born the same year, and the unusual thing about that was that I wasn’t born until 10 years after my parents were married - yet I was the first-born! Amazing when I reflect on it!

    God orchestrated events in our lives. He moved us from state to state - me from convent to convent, he from ministry to ministry, until our paths crossed in Pittsburgh. I really believe my Heavenly Father searched the world over to select the man who would be best for me, and He found my husband, David, in Pennsylvania. (See Genesis 2:22.) We celebrated our 20th anniversary in 2002, and we still marvel at the miracle God has done.

    In summary, let me share some invaluable lessons and secrets we discovered to finding God’s will for our lives:

  Pray for God’s Will - It’s okay to ask God for certain characteristics you’d like to see in a soulmate. Be realistic. Then put it in God’s hands. You will most likely find that the Perfect Matchmaker has already planted these characteristics in your heart. So you don’t need to lower your expectations and standards just because you don’t meet the “right” one quickly. Consider this: God already knew before the world was created who would be the best mate for you. Now pray that God will cause your paths to cross – in His time. Pray that you’ll both realize it is “right” when you finally meet each other. Also ask God that nothing will hinder His will from being done. Keep trusting God, and don’t date or marry an unbeliever.

  God is Working - Delays or silence from God, more often than not, mean that He is "working and preparing" - not that He hasn’t heard our prayers or doesn’t care. It took 34 years of preparation in our lives before God brought us together. The Holy Spirit refined our characters, weeded out obstacles in each of our lives, and developed qualities in each of us that were what we wanted in our mate. By making the most of your preparation stage - cooperating with the Holy Spirit, and growing spiritually - you can be ready when the time is right. God has to be able to trust you with the small things before He can trust you with one of His sons or daughters.

  Go With the Flow - Learn the difference between being rejected and experiencing a closed door. What seems like failure on your part may not be that at all. God is guiding you, and may be trying to protect you from getting into the wrong relationship. Observe the signs that God gives you through your circumstances, and listen to what He is trying to say to you.

  Wait for God’s Time - Only make the decision to marry when you have the full assurance within your heart - the witness of the Holy Spirit that causes you to know beyond a shadow of a doubt - that he or she is the one God has chosen for you. We tend to think we know what we want and need in a mate, but we really don’t understand ourselves. Let God select that person for you. He knows exactly what you need, and He wants to give you his best. That is worth waiting for! Remember, God knows all His children, and knows how to find and bring the right person to you. Commit your needs and desires to Him, and wait for His time. (See Psalm 37:3-7). God’s timing is always perfect! When His timing is right, He will reveal "things which eye has not seen, and ear has not heard, and which have not entered the heart of man, all THAT God has prepared for those who love Him...and wait for Him." (Isaiah 64.4; 1 Corinthians 2:9 NASB - emphasis ours).

  Love God and Put Him First - Both of us came to the point in our lives where we said to Christ, "If you never send me a mate, you will still be Number One in my life. You will be the spouse I never had." When we each came to this decision, it seemed that soon thereafter, doors began to open. In a nutshell: above all, Love God and put Him first, obey His rules, keep yourself pure - even when things get dark and time drags on, and we don’t receive the answers to prayer that we expect. (See Matthew 6:33).

    He can be the Perfect Matchmaker for you, too. The Father does not love David and Mary Anne any more than He loves you. He may not work the same way, or use the same situations for you as He did for them, but one thing you can certainly be assured of: He wants the very best for you, and He will be faithful to work out the best plan for your life - whether or not this plan includes marriage.

    But you might say, "I have blown it." Perhaps you feel you have disqualified yourself from receiving God's best by some mistake or moral failure. Repent, ask God for forgiveness and start anew. God promises that if we love Him and are called according to His purpose, He will cause all things to work together for good. So begin incorporating these principles and see what God will do. Remember, He can do the same for you as He did for us, IF you will love Him with your whole heart, and put Him first in your life. Trust Him! Wait for Him! He loves you!



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