Our Love Story

From the time that I was 17 years old, I had been continuously praying for my future wife. My youth pastor once explained to our youth group that because you spend more than half your life with your spouse, it was very important to marry the right person. Since that time, I have always prayed for my wife because I knew she was alive somewhere in the world. I also set my heart to only date the young woman that God convicts me to marry. I was living in Phoenix, Arizona at the time, and my wife, Ellen, was living across the country in Toms River, New Jersey. By the time was 21 years old and Ellen was 19, she had made her first visit to Arizona on vacation with her family in January 1993. (After 4 years of prayer, I had no idea that my prayers were finally being answered.) While sight-seeing at Papago Park in Phoenix, Ellen was standing upon a large rock and suddenly had the most astounding idea to come to school in Arizona. As soon as she returned home in New Jersey, she immediately made preparations for her move to Arizona and applied to Arizona State University and University of Arizona. In March 1994, with her ASU acceptance letter and all her belongings packed, Ellen and her parents finally made the 3 day drive to Arizona. In the fall of that same year, I had met my future wife for the first time at a youth/college event that I was leading through my church. We were immediately attracted to each other. After several meetings, our acquaintance bloomed into friendship, and then romance was in the air. Only after a month of dating, I was firmly convicted that Ellen would be my wife, and made my marriage proposal, and of course, she accepted. Now 24 years and 4 kids later, the love and romance continue to keep momentum. My wife tells me that had it not been for my prayers luring her into Arizona, we may have never met, but Providence was definitely on our side. We have already lived more than half of our lives together and look forward to making many more happy and adventurous memories together.