It was the first cold day in a mild January when Chris wanted to walk to the coffee shop near my parents’ home.  He had come to spend his Christmas break with me and my family.  As we rounded the corner onto the main street leading into town, Chris began to reflect aloud on our relationship.  I wondered at the direction of his thoughts, but determined not to let myself get caught up in anticipation, and in doing so miss out on our special time together.  I had just made this resolution when Chris stopped walking.  I turned to find him kneeling on the snowy sidewalk, his face a picture of love.  The words were simple, and I can still hear them.  “Will you marry me?”

For me, it began with a game of Uno at St. Al’s Fireside Fellowship.  For Chris, it was at a leadership meeting for the same group.  I suppose it began in the usual manner… a tingle of excitement, a quick glance, a shy smile.  Our broomball teams played against each other.  We both went to a Catholic Couples group… as singles.  We joined our mutual friends in praying the Catholic Church’s communal Morning and Night Prayers.  We met for lunch in the Memorial Union Building.  We played ping pong at St. Al’s.  Almost everything we did involved St. Al’s!  Each other’s love for Christ and the Church was the most important attraction for both of us.

I remember being so excited and nervous that I hardly slept for three days!  And just when I thought that I couldn’t take the suspense any longer (Chris’ best friend was counseling him to be cautious – “Make sure she really likes you!”) he finally initiated “the talk.”  I only had one semester of classes left at Michigan Tech but we both sensed that, unless we took a chance, we would be missing out on something big.

As Chris and I shared our stories, I was amazed by how clearly I could see God’s hand.  In the summer following his second year, Chris was hurting from a long-term relationship that had ended very suddenly.  Without a summer job, he didn’t have a way to stay occupied.  He began praying a lot, and frequently visited the twenty-four hour chapel near his family’s home.  Through miraculous circumstances, Chris connected with a family friend who knew of an internship opportunity with Hercules Incorporated.  He spent a rewarding summer in Brainerd, Minnesota, with the paper chemistry company from which he has since accepted a full-time job offer.  Chris returned to school in the fall with rejuvenated faith and a great focus on prayer.

I had been considering life as a consecrated religious (i.e. “a nun”) for nearly two years.  My close friends knew that I struggled mightily with this idea.  I did not want to join a convent – I was desperately afraid of being lonely and unhappy – but I knew that I needed to be open to God’s will.  Finally, in the fall of my fifth year, I surrendered to whatever God had in mind for me.  I prayed that He would show me very clearly which way I should go.

Throughout that fall semester, God continued to prepare us both for our relationship.  I had often joked to my friends that I wanted God’s #1 foam hand to come down from the sky and point to the guy He had chosen for me… and it pretty much happened that way.  We each knew early on that the other was “the one.”

As Chris and I grew together, we discerned our call to marriage.  We have both found true joy in knowing that we are living God’s will for us.  The best and most fruitful time for us has almost certainly been the time we’ve spent together studying Pope John Paul II’s Theology of the Body.  Through our late Holy Father’s teachings about how the true meaning of life and love is revealed in and through the body, we have begun to understand the life we’re called to live.  It’s a great and glorious adventure…. and we’re so blessed to walk with you!  Please pray with and for us as we prepare to receive the Sacrament of Marriage.  May the grace and peace of Christ be with you!