Matt & Skye's Story
by Skye Erickson Wensing

The Lord knows how to bring two people together. Even when they live on opposite sides of the United States. And aren't particularly interested in marriage. And come from different backgrounds. One from Florida, the other from Oregon. One in college, the other mapping out her life for the next five years, with marriage at the end of those years. One raised in a church-going but unspiritual family, the other from a very conservative, believing family. But they knew the same God.

The same God who asks us, “is anything too hard for Me?”1 That Scripture seemed to be etched into my very heart throughout my courtship and engagement to Matthew. He proved to us to be the God of all impossibilities--making communication and travel easy and frequent, reshaping plans to fit into His plan, and blending differences into unity. And that was only the beginning.

I wouldn't say we had the most ideal or perfect courtship and engagement--but I wouldn't trade it. I wouldn't trade the prayers we learned to whisper on our knees together, the answers we received, the tears we shed, the joy we felt, the lessons we learned, and the blending of our hearts the Lord did through all we experienced in the nearly two years before we were married. There was a great richness and depth to our relationship due to the challenges and trials that we faced together.

It all started in the spring of 2001, when Matt contacted me after reading some things I wrote on a Christian message board. What followed in the months beyond was first an acquaintance-ship, then a platonic friendship, then a realization that perhaps something more was happening.

We both spent much time in fasting and prayer, seeking the Lord for His will, counseling, considering, and talking with parents and spiritual brothers and sisters. Then, both of us having separately died to our own desires and dreams, and the Lord giving us a glimpse of some even more beautiful ones, and with great peace and assurance in our hearts that we were in His will, we began a courtship on December 8, 2001. We learned and grew a lot, individually and together, in our eleven months of courtship. It was a beautiful as well as a challenging time. There were situations along the way that tested and tried our faith. As a result, we got to know each other on a much deeper level (thanks to airplanes and good long distance rates and cell phones!).

We made some mistakes and even caused some of our own trials. And though it was difficult, humbling, and stretching, we look back and are thankful for the things we learned--for how the Lord used our weaknesses to bind us closer together.

In November of 2002, some communication took place between my uncle (my then guardian) and Matthew, in which my uncle encouraged him to take the step he had already been contemplating and praying about…engagement.

Sensing what was coming, I first talked with my uncle and aunt about it, asking for their blessing and permission to accept Matt's proposal, should he ask on his upcoming visit. They wholeheartedly gave it, loving him already as their own son. I then asked other members of the family, who also gave their blessing.

Matt came out to Oregon for Thanksgiving break, during which time, we made a day visit to the coast together. We enjoyed the day together and ended it up on a large rock that juts out into the ocean from the shore. As the sun was setting, Matt proposed, and I, fully prepared in my heart, said yes. We prayed together as we contemplated the future, asking for our Loving Father's direction and blessing.

And on August 10th, with a heart full of joy and gratefulness for His faithfulness, I married my best friend. God blessed our wedding in a very special way. We truly felt Him smiling down on us, watching as we committed our hearts and lives to each other. The transition (complete with a midway across the country move) has been very sweet and wonderful. We're very happy, content, and grateful for all we experienced before marriage--it prepared us so well for life together.

There haven't been any surprises or disappointments (as some skeptical onlookers tried to warn us about)--just a love that keeps growing day by day as we seek to be the husband and wife that He wants us to be.
NOTES: 1 Jer. 32:27. All references NIV.

reprinted with permission from HopeChest Magazine
www.hopechestmagazine.com