After a few meaningless dates with men of little integrity, I met Neill. I saw the advertisement for ChristianMingle on my Facebook page and thought that I would try it one more time. He was the only guy on the site that I felt might be a good match, so I initiated contact.  We emailed for two weeks and finally, we began talking on the phone. It was clear that he had the same sense of humor and family values and so we had our first date on October 31, 2007. After a dinner full of conversation and laughs, we continued on to play games at Dave and Buster’s.

Both of us had been married before to individuals who were degrading toward us and consistently unkind and unfaithful. We both knew what we wanted in a partner and quickly found it in one other. I met his parents five weeks into the relationship and found out where his strong values and tenderness came from. Seven months later, we were engaged.

He knew that I am a “no frills” kind of girl so a simple proposal would do, but he had to go one step further. We are both die hard Kansas State University fans so he thought that after a nice walk around the campus, we would run into Willie Wildcat carrying a little red box. I think you know what that led to. I knew he had purchased a ring, but I did not know when or where he would ask. I was completely surprised.

We set a wedding date of August 9, 2008. The wedding was to take place in Danforth Chapel, on the campus of KSU. On July 27, 2008, his mom went into the hospital, unconscious and not breathing well. On July 30, she was declared brain dead and her funeral was the following Monday.  We were still married that following Saturday with many tears, joy, and pouring down rain. Neill was very close to his mother and I knew that God’s timing was right so that he would not go through this alone. After all we had been through; a honeymoon was not going to come soon.

Our first year of marriage was not the same as other couples because it was filled with mourning and joy. We have found that this has strengthened our marriage and brought us closer to God and His plan for us. This was the hardest thing I have ever endured, but I know that He is great and carried us through it all.

I have never felt more loved by another human being and our love is stronger than ever. Our friends tell us that we are the “cute” annoying couple and that they have never seen such a perfect match. We have yet to take a honeymoon. Life has been busy and money has been tight. I am a special education teacher in a Title 1 school and he is working on his MBA to try and advance his career and to support us. Thank you so much for letting me share our story.