How God Wrote Our Unusual Love Story
Sun Jan 29, 06 8:05 am
Mood: In Love ]How God Wrote Our Unusual Love Story(From Jeana’s point of view)
I have heard many different responses when I expressed concern about meeting my future husband...“Husbands don’t just fall from the sky, Jeana”…“You really just have to be patient and God will bring you someone eventually”…“If you are moving to the country, how do you expect to catch a husband?”…“You can’t go ‘looking’ you have to stay where you are and wait patiently.” Well, all the voices seemed very distant when God decided to drop my husband from heaven right into my lap!
I was resigned that because of my standards, and a desire for a very simple and back-to-basics lifestyle, my chances of finding a man with the same desires were highly unlikely and maybe impossible! I didn’t care where I would have to live (except the city) and I wasn’t worried much about looks, but I knew that I had to have a “different” kind of man. Little did I know, there was a man several states away, whom I had never met or even heard of, with the same concerns on his mind and he was praying for the same things that I was. Only God could have thought of a way for our worlds to collide.
It was October of 2005 and my family was going to attend a No Greater Joy Conference (by Mike and Debi Pearl) in West Virginia. The conference was geared towards homeschooling and back-to-basic type families. Most families who attend these conferences focus on raising godly families. In many cases, older children of these families go to the conferences in hopes of meeting other like-minded families - maybe even eligible singles! This was my intent, so my family set out on a week-long vacation to go “husband-hunting” for Jeana! We arrived, met lots of wonderful Christian families, but did not come out with any good prospects. However, I did meet several women at the conference and they told me that they knew of men who were looking for a wife like me. One lady in particular told me of a friend who had a brother who was looking for a wife, but the odds of me meeting him were so slim that I didn’t give it a second thought. I had a sewing business card, an herbal remedies business card and a bulk grains and bread business card, all of which I gave to the ladies that I talked with. Even though I did not meet any man at the conference I was not worried that God would not have His way; it just wasn’t His time. He is God, and He knows best, so I continued to trust Him without having my prayer answered in my way.
The next few months God really did some refining work in me, and He seemed to be closing a lot of doors for things that I was hoping to do throughout the upcoming year and months. My three businesses were going very well, but there seemed to be sort of a lull in the sales and busy-ness of them. I felt like I had completed all of the things that I had hoped to complete before getting married.
In December I had several people tell me that I just seemed ready to be married, and I said that I really was, but there was NO ONE! We went to Wisconsin to visit family for Christmas and on the way home, December 26, my cell phone rang. I answered the phone and on the other end was a young man (nervously stuttering over his words) J telling me that he had received my three business cards from his sister who got them from a friend who had attended the No Greater Joy Conference in October! He said his name was Jonathan Bigelow, and he lived in South Carolina. He wanted to know if he could ask me some questions about myself. In turn I asked him if he didn’t want to talk to my father first? He said that he did, but no one answered at the other number (our home phone). I told him that we were just returning from a trip and were almost home; he could call back in ten minutes to speak with my father. I just assumed this was another one of those fluke things that get my hopes up, but always comes to nothing. I am glad that God knew what He was doing! My Dad talked with him for a while and said that he sounded like a nice guy. He called him the next day to ask him a few more questions and then I had my interest piqued and I was willing to get to know him and see where the road took me!
That same day I sent a letter to Jonathan (with a picture of my family), which, as it turns out, he would not receive for an entire week. Obviously there were so many questions in my mind and I could not wait for several weeks to have them answered, and I needed to know if this guy really was a prospect for me. It seemed highly unlikely that it would be this “easy!” So three days after I sent the letter my brother-in-law called and asked Jonathan a list of questions that I had come up with. They were the 15 “deciding factors” for me, and I knew that if he could pass this test he would have a good chance at winning my hand. Jonathan answered with such honesty, sincerity of heart and humility that it amazed me, and from the little bit of information I learned about him, he also held the same standards and desires for his future family that I held.
The next day we started e-mailing each other. Jonathan began the e-mailing, and I am so thankful for that. He really started our relationship off on a beautiful note, and it became clear to us after several days of e-mailing that God’s hand was certainly in this. Both sets of parents were amazed and very happy that God seemed to be bringing two like-minded young people together in this unusual manner. We both spent much time in prayer truly seeking God’s will and knowing that if things were not done in God’s way this would all be in vain. We began to see how we seemed to just be designed for each other, being that all of our hopes, dreams, standards and lifestyles aligned perfectly with the other. Jonathan set very high standards from the beginning that we both agreed would be essential to maintaining the purity of this relationship intended for marriage. We agreed not to kiss until our wedding day, and to rarely touch, if at all.
Three weeks of e-mailing turned into a wonderful way to get to know all about one other, and we felt like lifelong friends! We learned many valuable things about one another by discussing doctrines, lifestyle views, plans for our future family and many other topics of importance. We finally saw each other’s pictures after a week of corresponding, and needless to say, neither one of us was disappointed! J The roots of our friendship were being deeply planted and God was definitely leading us. On January 19 we officially “met” and it was like a reunion of old friends! Jonathan traveled to Missouri to spend 5 days with our family. He spent a lot of time with my dad, laying the foundation for a great relationship, while displaying a gentle nature and outstanding character. During his stay my entire family fell in love with him! My nieces and nephews just adore him, and the time was sweet and fragranced with the aroma of a heavenly scent. Impending marriage was heavily on the minds of all, and God was making everything beautiful in His time.
………………The story is not yet complete, but this is where we are now. We plan to talk on the phone for 20 minutes every evening, and my parents and I will travel to SC to meet his family on February 11. During that visit we hope to become officially engaged, and the tentative wedding date is his birthday, March 16! He received my business cards from his sister on my birthday, December 24, so it only seems fitting to marry on his! The story will end as beautifully as it started, and the Lord willing, we will have our quiver full before too long!!
Thanks be to God GREAT things He hath done!
Romans 8:28
Proverbs 18:22
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It helps to deepen my trust and hope, when doubts soemtimes appear. I was almost crying tears of joy at the end. I wish you both and your families, the most wonderful happiness and success.
