So...how are all of you out there in Blogger Land? As many of
you may have noticed, Kelsey hasn’t been blogging much lately, but that's all
about to change....you see, -we-(yep, that’s right -the two of us) have a
beautiful story to tell...
It is a story of how the Lord works in the lives of His children,
how no details are too small for Him to have His hand in, and how He opens
doors that no man could ever open.
Okay...lets back way up. We’re going to fill you all in from the
beginning....
Kelsey: It all started when our
family attended the No Greater Joy Smoky Mountain Shindig at Ridgecrest, back
in September, the 10th-14th. One of our goals in attending the Shindig
was simply to meet "new fish in new waters" so to speak. We had
wanted to attend the last two Shindig events, but they were both too far for us
to travel, so when we heard that this one was going to be in North Carolina, we
signed up right away! It was a lovely week filled with lots of good
sessions, friendly folks, fun games and good music. Each night, after the
congregational sessions were over, everyone split off into separate divisions,
with all of the 17 and older singles in a group of their own. Lots of
games were played that tried to get the girls and guys talking to one another,
and it was crazy, but a lot of fun. While we were there I met a lot of
nice young men (and young women for that matter), but no one who really stuck
out in my mind as being “Mr. Right”, if you know what I mean. It was a
wonderful weekend, but I came home thinking, “well...maybe next time”.
"But seek first the kingdom
of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.
Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about its
own things. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble."
Matthew 6:33-34
Illusive Writer: I discovered the No Great Joy Shindig this past winter
while reading the book, "In Search of a Help Meet". After
I read about this "matchmaking/family conference" my first thought
was "yep that's a strange way to find a wife; not going there"....I
always had this idea you meet a girl at church or at some other mutual location
and slowly become good friends over time till you fall in love; so you
could say I wasn't into this wife shopping thing.
This past July I was out working my job getting that lonely feeling
unmarried guys often get. I wanted a wife and family, but how? And
where is this illusive young lady gonna come from?
I had already met many godly
young women, each of whom would make some lucky man a great wife someday; but
never felt like I had met a girl I knew for sure for sure, was the
one for me.
I was feeling slightly down about the fact that I had explored all my
options, but still had no urge to pursue any particular young lady.
I prayed "God, what do you want me to do?"
Immediately going to the Shindig popped into my head. “What
God! Really? ...that's where desperate hillbillies go to find a wife!”
Such a silly idea couldn't be from God. ....or so I thought.
Over the next few weeks the idea kept bugging me until I came to grips
with the fact that I was never gonna get married unless I got out and met some
possibilities.
So with the full peace of God in my heart and a changed mind I made
reservations for the Smokey Mountain Shindig!
"Whoso findeth a wife findeth a good thing,
and obtaineth favor of the Lord."
Proverbs 18:22
Kelsey: A lot of the talks at the Shindig were
focused on missions. My heart has been towards missions since I was 13,
so this conference was right up my alley. I have always had it in my mind
that I wanted to marry a missionary, and despite my family and friends telling
me to keep an open mind, I was pretty set with that idea. While I was at
the Shindig, I made it my goal to speak to Kelsey Steele, missionary wife in
Ukraine, and ask her some things that had been on my heart, as well as ask her
opinion of my situation, because if anyone would understand, she would.
Towards the end of the conference I got my
chance to speak to her. She advised me to stay open-minded, to not close
out the idea of marrying a plumber simply because of what I felt. She
told me to pray about each situation individually before I just said no to a
young man. It wasn't what I wanted to
hear at the time, but it was definitely what I needed to hear.
For the days following the conference, the
Lord really began working on my heart, changing my thought process that I had
had for the past 10 years. The Lord was asking me to give up my dreams
and plans that I had made for my future and simply trust Him with it.
Illusive Writer: The Shindig came, and went. I heard many great sermons, met a lot
of families and made new friends. All in all I had a great time.
As you might be asking, "Well, did you meet any particular young
lady?".....um...no. I met many great, godly young women - they were
everywhere! "Then why didn't you pursue any of them?!" …I
know! I asked myself the same questions. I wanted to follow the
Lord's leading and it just wasn't there.
I've been told by many married
men "you just sorta, know". As if that is supposed to be
helpful. *sigh*
Despite not coming back from the trip with "the one", I felt
the weekend went well and I had a great time.
...life goes on.
Before leaving for the conference, I had become part of the No Greater
Joy Shindig discussion group on Facebook to keep connected with other fellow
shin-diggers.
A few days after the event, I was scrolling through some of the photos
members had been posting from last weekend when suddenly -boom- there she is!
This girl I had never seen or met pops right out of a photo and slaps me
in the face! That special girl in the photo was Kelsey Hammond.
This was "THE" photo!
She wasn't even the subject of the picture I had found her in; she was
in the background. I searched and searched all over Facebook, but I couldn't
find her!(she's not on Facebook)…Luckily her father is; and he tagged her.
Ka-ching! I now have a name! Oh, but wait a minute -what am I
thinking? I don't know this girl from Eve!
It took me a moment to realize I was going crazy and running from all
reasoning. Besides, there are a lot of pretty girls on Facebook.
For the sake of sanity I'll just forget about it.
.....right(said sarcastically)
Three days go by and this picture of Kelsey is permanently branded in my
mind and I can't get her out! I had no idea how old she was, what her
character was like, or even if she was already married! And to think, I
was actually considering contacting Mr. Hammond!
I could no longer hold my peace. I got on Facebook chat and began
my letter of intention. I wrote "Mr. Hammond" then hit
"enter" and suddenly realized it was set to send the message when the
"enter" button was hit! A few seconds go by and I get a reply
"yes Matthew?".
"For My thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are your ways My ways,
says the Lord. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My
ways higher than your ways, and My thoughts than your thoughts."
Isaiah 55:8-9
Kelsey: On Thursday night, September 18th, four days
after the Shindig, Dad and Mom called me into their room and informed me that a
young man by the name of Matthew Dickerson, who had also attended the Shindig,
was interested in getting to know me better. I was shocked. I had
never even met him. I recognized his name, because he was on the Shindig
Facebook page, and I knew he was the guy playing the dulcimer at the Shindig,
but that was all I knew of him. I had read some of his comments on the
Facebook page and thought he sounded like a very wise, young man. But
when Dad said he was interested in me, I was floored! My parents asked me
what I thought and I told them that I would have to pray about it. I
didn't know much about him, but what little I did know interested me greatly.
*smile* They thought I would have
said no to him right off the bat because he wasn't a missionary. I hadn't
shared with them how the Lord had been working on my heart prior to this and so
when I said that I would consider him, it was their turn to be shocked.
So that night we all took it to the Lord in prayer to see what his will
would be in this.
After praying about the situation, I felt
absolute peace that the Lord would have me get to know Matthew Dickerson
better. I still didn't know where all of this would go, but every time I
took the matter before the Lord, He would give me His indescribable peace that
this was His will and to simply follow His leading. Along with the Lord's
peace about the whole situation, He also gave me an excitement for what He had
in store,...an excitement that goes beyond description. So I gave Dad the
go ahead to get to know Matthew better.
"Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and
supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; and
the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your
hearts and minds through Christ Jesus."
Philippians 4:6-7
Matthew
(the Illusive Writer): Turns out Kelsey wasn't married
yet or even being pursued. She was a good bit shorter than me and wasn't under
aged or over aged (I'm not sure what that means so I'll leave that for you to
decide) She was just right! Four months younger than I am!!
Anyway, back to my
story....
After initially chatting with Mr. Hammond over the phone and sending him
a more "official" letter of intent, I waited patiently to get a
response from the little miss…
Waiting with sweaty palms and an accelerated heart rate, I finally got
the call from Mr. Hammond telling me Kelsey accepted the inquiry and wanted to
pursue the relationship!
…I was in shock!
"Who can find a virtuous woman?
for her price is far above rubies"
Proverbs 31:10
Kelsey: Dad spent the next three weeks getting to
know Matthew, asking him all the hard questions, and not only that, but also
just figuring out what kind of guy Matthew was, what his likes and dislikes
were, his character traits, his beliefs and such. I was third party to
all of this, hearing from Dad how things were going. The waiting
was_not_easy! I am always the first to know what is going on in our
family, so to not be personally involved in the conversations that Matthew and
Dad were having was hard on me, but I reminded myself that patience is a
virtue. During this time, I just kept praying that the Lord's will would
be done through it all.
Matthew: Everything
I learned about Kelsey and how God worked out our situation was nothing short
of a miracle.
Mr. Hammond had spotted me at the Shindig and singled me out as
someone he could imagine marrying one of his daughters. …Amazing
right? I never even met him! But he didn’t feel like he should be the one
to approach me about his daughter.
Little did he know I would contact him the following week.
Something else I find interesting is if I had met Kelsey at the
Shindig and shown interest I would have more then likely been turned
down. …You see, I wasn’t a foreign missionary.
"And we know that all things work together for good to them
that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose."
Romans 8:28
Kelsey: Finally,… on October 11th, Matthew got
permission from Dad to contact me personally. So that evening, while I
was playing a game with our family, Dad informed me that I had my very first
email waiting in my inbox from Matthew! To say I was excited would be an
understatement. Matthew's letter was beautiful! (He is a really good
writer!) It started out...
"To the very significant young lady to whom this letter
concerns :)"
Talk about melting my heart! In his
email he explained how he came about contacting my Dad, what he saw in me that
made him inquire about me, and how the Lord had worked so far in this. He
was open and honest and sweet. I ended up
sending a lengthy email back to him that night! And that was the
beginning of our correspondence.
Matthew: -Head
in the clouds-
I finally wrote my first letter to this girl I had never met,
talked to, or seen before in my life, yet I had “strangely enough” grown quite
fond of her.
It was horrible! …I was so nervous! What do you say to a girl
you’ve never met?
Corresponding via email became easier with each letter.
Kelsey’s an amazing writer! As you can tell just by reading her blog.
"My heart is inditing a good matter...my tongue is the pen of a
ready writer."
From Psalms 45:1
Kelsey: Pretty soon, texting was added as another
form of communication as we got to know each other better. Neither of us
had too much experience in texting, but we are now professionals at it!
Since this is a long distance relationship (Matthew lives in Ohio), it
has been a wonderful way to get to know each other on a day to day basis.
But we still had not yet met face to face. Dad mentioned to Matthew
that if he wanted to meet in person, he should consider coming down to the
NCFIC conference at the end of October. Matthew prayed about it and
agreed that it would be as good a time as any, so it was planned. We were
to meet for the first time on Friday, October 31st, at the NCFIC conference,
which was also held at Ridgecrest, the same location that the Shindig was held
at, where our whole story started in the first place.
"Delight yourself also in the LORD, and He shall give you the
desires of your heart. Commit your way to the LORD, trust also in Him,
and He shall bring it to pass."
Psalm 37:4-5
Matthew: I told Kelsey I would like to talk on the phone at least once
before seeing her in person, so as to not make our first encounter such an
awkward experience.
“What did her voice sound like? high? low?, or nasally? …Would it
be like the rough gals they hire behind the counter at the scrap yard?!”
…Thoughts would flood my mind!
Kelsey: Before the NCFIC conference rolled around,
Matthew and I had gotten pretty comfortable texting and emailing each other.
We decided that it would probably be good to talk on the phone at least
once before the conference, to kind of break the ice, so to speak. I
didn't want to know WHEN he was going to call me, so I asked him to surprise me
whenever he thought he was ready. So,...on October 22nd, my cell phone,
which had become ever by my side, rang! Only I didn't have it with me at
the time, so instead of Matthew reaching me on the phone, Dad answered!
But Dad quickly passed the phone off to me and for the first time I was
able to hear Matthew's voice! Talk about exciting....and nervous!
Although I believe he was more nervous than I....-wink-. I do not
normally talk on the phone much, but he was so easy to talk to. He does a
really good job of asking questions to get me talking and is also a good
listener so that I feel like he is really interested in what I have to say.
Matthew: Our first telephone call was for a good hour and twenty minutes; and
was purely delightful!
If you’ve ever met and talked to
Kelsey before you would know that she is the sweetest angel on earth; and she
sounds like one too. ;-)
The initial idea was one phone conversation one week before the
conference; …We ended up with three lengthy calls totaling 5
1/2 hours before we met.
Kelsey: We arrived at the conference on Wednesday to
catch up with family and friends. Matthew was due to arrive Friday
morning and I was to meet him for the first time with just my family there.
He told me he would call on Thursday night after the sessions to solidify
what time he was getting there and where our meeting location would be, but he
also said that we couldn't talk for too long because he had to be on the road
by 3:00 to make it to the conference by 9:00 the next morning. The
Thursday night session ended up going over about 45 minutes, so when it
finished I slipped out during the final announcements and grabbed Ethan as an
escort, running all the way back to our room to call Matthew.
Matthew: Kelsey had asked what time I would need to leave so I could arrive at
the conference Friday morning; -I said “three o’clock”. What I didn’t tell her was I was planning on
leaving at three in the afternoon on Thursday!
I showed up that night around
nine fifteen and the meeting was still in session. So I made my way into the
building where the main sessions were held and took a seat up on the balcony
out of the Hammond’s view.
I received a text from Mr. Hammond letting me know where he was
sitting. I quickly spotted him and
started thinking about how I might pull off a surprise.
As the meeting was ending Kelsey dashed out the door and was gone!
…“What do I do now?!” I thought.
After the final announcements I quickly headed down the stairs and into
the main auditorium looking for the Hammonds but they seemed to have already
left the building.
After I sauntered up towards the stage I spotted Caleb (Kelsey’s
brother-in-law) and let him know I was there.
He quickly stepped aside and he informed me that Kelsey had gone back to
her dorm for the night to wait for my phone call and head to bed. We then both hurried our way towards the
Hammond’s dorm. While on our way I gave Kelsey a call to follow up with what I
said I would do; and make small talk making her really think I was still in
Ohio.
Kelsey: When Ethan and I reached the dorm, it
was nearly 10:00. I was afraid I was
going to miss him and he would already be sleeping. He wasn't sleeping,
but he said he couldn't talk for long, due to the hour. We talked for a
few minutes, but we had a "phone connection" glitch and were
disconnected. He called right back but told me he had to get some sleep
so we should hang it up. I was disappointed, but understood. I had
planned on talking for at least a half hour and then getting some shut eye
myself, instead of rejoining my family in the meeting rooms. But that was
okay; I still got to talk to him and I would just go to bed a little earlier
than I had planned. I already had my pajamas on when Savannah came into
the room to drop her Bible and jacket off and announced that if Matthew was
done talking to me, that Dad wanted me back down at the meeting rooms. I
tried explaining that I was tired and was just gonna call it an early night,
but Dad would have none of that. He kept being persistent despite my
pleading to simply head to bed, so I reluctantly agreed to join them in a few
minutes. In the five minutes it took me to re-dress and brush my hair, I
had no idea what was happening on the landing outside my room...
Matthew: We arrived at
the dorm and found the rest of the family on the balcony outside Kelsey’s
room. Mr. Hammond leaned over the
railing and said in a loud whisper “She’s in her pajamas! Hang up the phone!”
I quickly hung up while Kelsey was yet speaking.
Mr. Hammond explained they somehow needed to convince Kelsey to get
redressed!
After a couple minutes they told me it was okay to call her back. So I
did, and I apologized for the “disconnect”.
I said it was late and since I had a big day tomorrow… blah blah blah
-just to make excuses to get off the phone and get this show on the road!
After making an ending to the awkward phone conversation I hung up and
Mr. Hammond said that Kelsey was now dressed and that I should knock on her
door.
“What! Knock on her door?”
“-Yes-, knock on her door!”
So with a lump in my throat -I knocked on her door!
Kelsey: When the door opened and there stood
Matthew, my heart stopped. Here stood the man who I had spent the last 2
1/2 weeks getting to know through calls, texts and emails, this fella who was
actively pursuing a relationship with me, the guy who I was preparing myself to
meet TOMORROW! And here he was, surprising me by coming early! I
was elated, and excited, and nervous all at once. I was seriously
shaking! But it was wonderful to finally be face to face talking to
him...purely amazing!
Matthew: Kelsey proved to be beyond my expectations. Her face was simply beaming with
happiness! I didn’t know what to do or
say for the rest of the evening; I was so shaken! I literally remember seeing stars and having
a sick stomach.
I didn’t sleep but a couple of
hours that night as I tossed and turned in my bed, replaying last night’s
events over and over again in my mind.
Kelsey: The next morning, as I was getting
ready for the day, I received a text from Matthew asking if I would like to
take a hike up to the top of the mountain to watch the sunrise. Uh...yes,
absolutely! But I had to check with Dad first, so after getting an okay
from him and talking Ethan into being our chaperone, it was all set. I
rushed around, finishing getting ready, as he would be there to pick us up any
minute.
Matthew: Early that morning as I gazed upon the mountains, I got the
sudden urge to see the sunrise. “Oh but
wait! -maybe I can see it with Kelsey; how romantic would that be! But what would her parents think, I mean,
they hardly know me!
Ah, why not? I didn’t have anything to lose by asking. So
I went ahead and inquired.
“-What? what was that? y’ yes?
You mean, I can go watch the sunrise with Kelsey?! Awesome!!!”
Kelsey: We drove halfway to the top of the
mountain, parking about a mile from the top to finish hiking the rest of the
way up. I am used to walking a lot, but not on an incline, so I'm afraid
Ethan did most of my talking on the way up... :) We reached the top right
after the sun had come over the mountain ridge. It was warm and bright
and beautiful. But best of all, I was up there enjoying God's beautiful
creation with him.....oh, and
Ethan was there too! :) He prayed for our weekend together, that the
Lord's will would be done in both of our lives, that He would grant us with His
wisdom concerning our futures and then simply praised the Lord for His goodness
to us. I came back down the mountain feeling refreshed, blessed and
excited to see what the Lord had in store.
Matthew: Being up there, enjoying the breeze and feeling the warmth from the sunshine, looking out
over some of the most beautiful mountains in the country -I wouldn’t have had
it any other way.
And since it is my greatest
desire to keep God as the center and unity of our friendship, I knew we were up
there to pray and ask His blessing on the weekend, and to thank Him for
bringing us together.
Praise God! What an experience.
The first hike up to the lookout.
Come,
and let us go up to the mountain of the Lord,
and to
the house of the God of Jacob;
and he
will teach us of his ways,
and we
will walk in his paths.
Micah
4:2
Kelsey: The weekend was wonderful, from meal times,
to the sessions times, to playing games, praying, singing, walking, and simply
sitting together talking.
Talking
Sunday came
upon us all too quickly. During
breakfast, Matthew asked if I would be willing to take a drive back up to the
top of the mountain to the outlook. Of
course I would! We hurried through our
meal, grabbed Ethan again and walked the distance back to Matthew’s car. On our way, we met some friends and Matthew
informed them that we were going up to the outlook again, but this time we were
going to talk about our dreams for the future.
-shock!!!-
This was news to me!
We reached the top and spent a few minutes
soaking in the sunshine. The air was
brisk but the sun was warm, and the view couldn’t have been lovelier. Pretty soon Matthew started asking me what my
dreams for my future were, was there anything that I had always wanted to do,
and what my hopes and plans were. He
then went on to share some of his ideas for his future and the type of man he
would like to be known as. We again
spent time praying for the Lord to reveal His will to us, thanking Him for our
weekend together, and asking Him to give us wisdom and discernment in decisions
for our futures. Pretty soon it was time
to head back down the mountain for the church service.
Matthew: Going up the mountain the second time was
thus far my most memorable time with Kelsey.
It was also a great time of
prayer. I felt like by being up there looking out over the smoky
mountains that we were somehow closer to God.
Kelsey was altogether
adorable that morning!
Magical ...that would be my
best way to put it.
As Kelsey had told me "truly a mountain top
experience".
Our second trip to the lookout
Kelsey: Matthew was able to stay through the
service and join us for a late lunch afterwards, so our family took him to a
local pizza joint that we enjoy, along with some other friends.
We got to talk and share and be ourselves and
just ask whatever came to mind. We ended the time by sharing a delicious
strawberry cheesecake. His time to spend with me and my family had come
to an end, so as we all walked out to say our goodbyes, we joined together in
prayer for safe travels for Matthew as well as that the Lord's will would be
done in both of our futures. It was hard to say goodbye that afternoon,
but I was very thankful for the time that we were able to be together.
Matthew: Saying goodbye was not easy for either of us. The weekend came to an
end all to quickly!
In my first letter to her I had
mentioned I was intending to spend time with her as well as her family and
friends. The purpose being to be able to
get to know each other as mutual friends.
Ha!
We were like peanut butter and jelly…
We hardly ever let each other out of our sight the whole weekend!
Kelsey: We arrived home on Monday and jumped
back into chores like normal. Or… almost like normal,...I've really only
been able to half focus on any of my jobs since September! That night, my
dad called Matthew's dad and they talked for over an hour and then our moms
also got on and talked with each other. I knew that before Matthew's and
my relationship went any further, both dads wanted to talk and make sure that
they were on the same page. When they got off the phone, my parents had
said that it went well, but that was all that they really said. But I
still didn't really know where we stood as far as courtship was concerned.....
On Tuesday night I receive a call out of the
blue from Matthew. He was babysitting his niece and nephews and was
wanting to talk to my dad. Dad wasn't home but was due to arrive soon, so
I talked with him while he waited. We chatted about different stuff, but
as soon as Dad got home I passed the phone off.
Matthew said that after he talked with my dad he wanted to talk to me
some more, so when he and Dad were finished, Matthew called me back. I
said hello and he right off the bat said he had a question for me. I told
him go ahead, I was listening. He paused for one second and then asked:
"Kelsey,
Would you commit to taking our relationship
beyond friendship, to single one another out, and (for as long as God wills)
reject all other possible suitors for the sole purpose of growing our
relationship with the hopes of marriage someday?
Will you enter into courtship with me?"
I immediately said, “Yes!
Gladly!”
So, on November 4th after only 3 phone calls totally 5 1/2 hours of
talking, over 1200 texts, 16 emails back and forth, and 3 1/2 days of getting
to know each other in person,....
Matthew Dickerson and Kelsey
Hammond
are in an official
courtship!
On the top of the mountain
Matthew: Kelsey was -so- sweet that night I asked her to be in courtship with
me. We said some thoughtful comments to
each other and reminisced about all the events leading up to that day.
We ended our conversation with a word of prayer. As Kelsey prayed, she almost lost it with her
tears; she was making me cry on the other side of the phone!
Kelsey:
-purely blissful- Two days after
beginning our courtship, while I was out working in the yard with my family, I
received another surprise from Matthew! A local flower shop in town
delivered a lovely bouquet of a dozen roses! Orange roses, no less, which
holds the meaning of "the beginning of a new relationship"! I actually received two bouquets that
day...but I'll let Matthew tell you about that!
Matthew: Let me start off by saying I
know nothing about ordering flowers! -ok, I take that back; I -knew- nothing about ordering flowers.
So I get on the phone with a flower ordering company and a guy answers
the phone. Now I’m under the impression
that this -guy- really knows what he’s talking about right?
well…
I told him our relationship was new and Kelsey’s favorite color was blue
and I wanted something that looked cute, adorable, and tailored to her.
Based off of his suggestions and
“expertise”, I made my order of one dozen bi-color orange roses with accenting
blue delphinium and greenery.
Sounds amazing right?…
I eagerly awaited for her flowers to show up the next day. Around noon Kelsey gave me a call thanking me
profusely saying how beautiful the flowers were.
…Feeling -very- accomplished I asked for her to send me a few pictures;
And this is what she sent me…
"What!"
"oh no!"
"That's -not what I had in mind!"
Cute? adorable? …Oh no, these looked like something you would give to a
high school graduate who came last in his class!
And what made it even worse was the message I had sent with it-
“Dear Kelsey,
It’s the least I could do. ~Matthew Dickerson”
Oh no it’s not!”
- I had to do -something-.
I gave her a call and apologized for the horrible mistake.
She exclaimed “oh but I like them”
I said “oh no, they’re ugly,
-horribly ugly”
She said “Matthew, they’re
fine. They’re from -you-!”
I said “-no no- If they’re come’n from me I’m gonna make
this right!”
I called the service I had placed the order with and spent a worthless
-hour and a half -on the phone! A ten
dollar gift card was the only thing they could do for me. They refused to give me the number of the florist. So I called Kelsey and we got the number off
of the vase.
I gave the florist a call and she was really sweet and nice. I kindly explained my dilemma and she said
Kelsey could bring her flowers back and have them fixed for no additional
charge.
So that’s what she did; and the results were amazing!
The revised bouquet.
Yep, cute, and adorable; just what I was looking for!
So if you ever want to get flowers for someone, -call the florist!
Kelsey: I am one very happy girl! He
is so good and kind and has been a wonderful leader in our relationship. To see the Lord's hand in and through
not only our friendship and courtship, but also in how He worked in both of our
lives to bring us to where we are today, is truly a blessing! I have
never met anyone who matched my way of thinking as closely as Matthew does,
from our views on family, to our love of Border Collies, from our doctrinal
beliefs to our dislike of raw tomatoes, it_is_amazing!
Matthew & Kelsey: We have written our story together, not only so that you all can share in our excitement, but so that we could share with you how the Lord has been working. We feel like every aspect of our relationship is going really well! We realize that since courtship is a time for two people to get to know one another with the hopes of marriage someday, that even if, through courtship, two people find out that they are not the ones that the Lord has for each other, that no courtship is a failure, because it has done what it was designed to do. Please know that no two courtships will look alike, and that is the beauty behind it.
We are looking forward to where the Lord will take us and what He has planned for our futures. Please keep us in your prayers in the next several months as we discern His will!
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