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Everyone loves a good love story. Throughout the ages, tales of lovers have been handed down from generation to generation, eagerly received with excitement and fascination. However, the greatest love stories are those where God perfectly orchestrates the events and circumstances in two people’s lives to bring them together.
As we look back on our lives up to this point, we are amazed at how perfectly God works. Though sometimes, things happen in our lives that don’t make sense, we can always look back later and see that God knew what He was doing all along. We hope you are blessed by reading our story. Our desire is that our relationship be a testimony to the wonderful grace of God in our lives. He is truly able to do “exceedingly abundant above all that we could ever ask or think.” To God be the Glory, great things he has done
Warning: This is the somewhat long “female” version with all sorts of sappy little details. If you want the “male” version that gets right to the point (total of two sentences), then click here.
How we met...
Leisel: In July of 2003, I went to a youth summer missions program in Indianapolis called Operation Salt and Light, which focused on child evangelism. God really used that time in my life to give me a vision for reaching children with the Gospel, and to equip others to do so as well.
I had a great time and made a lot of friends, and also noticed this fun, outgoing guy named David. One day, I walked into the classroom, and noticed he was playing the piano…
David: I hadn’t actually met Leisel yet, but I had seen her around and knew her name, because I had never met a “Leisel” before, and it reminded me of the Sound of Music. I still don’t know what possessed me, but I decided to have a little fun. I had been playing “Amazing Grace,” but when she walked in, I started playing “Sixteen Going on Seventeen.” She stopped dead in her tracks, looked at me, and said “I know that song!” Then, for some reason which I still cannot identify, I said, “Leisel, you wouldn’t happen to be 16 going on 17 would you?” She replied, “actually, I am!” At this point, I felt really stupid, realizing I was nineteen and had just gotten done flirting with a sixteen year old girl.
That totally made my day, and was such a memorable moment. Over the next couple years, I saw David occasionally at later summer missions programs. I noticed his leadership, and passion for ministering and sharing the Gospel with others.
Becoming friends…
Leisel and I were both at Operation Salt and Light in 2005, a couple years after we had first met. I still didn’t really even know her, other than her name and her face, but at one point we were on the same teaching team. At the time, I was totally interested in someone else, so I hadn’t really noticed her as anything more than just a friend and co-laborer in Christ. It was such a blessing to get to know her in the context of serving together in ministry, with no other intentions or motives.
At one point, our team was driving back from a Bible club, Leisel was in the car, and our group was talking about life goals and ministries we felt God had called us to. I shared a few of the visions God had given me, and afterwards was thinking, “hmm. That was kind of weird… I just shared my life goals with a car full of people I don’t even know that well.”
I still remember that conversation, and the impact it had on me. For the first time in my life I had met a guy with the same view of ministry as I had. Here was a guy who was using his life for the Lord, and at the same time recognized his responsibility as a man to one day provide for a family. Needless to say, I was impressed!
That fall, God called me back to OKC, to serve with Novo Ministries, doing outreach in the form of children’s Bible clubs. Since David’s sister happened to be the one heading up the ministry, we had the opportunity we had the opportunity to work together and get to know each other in a ministry context. As I worked with David each week, the thought would more and more cross my mind that this was an amazing, godly, passionate young man, who was doing his utmost to fulfill God’s calling on his life, and to make a difference in the lives of others—and he wasn’t afraid to stand out or be different in order to do so. I knew he was going to make an awesome leader for a family some day, but the thought never really crossed my mind that he might be a leader for my family, because I had been misinformed. Somebody had told me that David had a girl, and in my mind, that meant he was practically engaged. Though it is funny now, I can see that misunderstanding as a blessing from God. David was (and still is) an amazing catch, but because he was already taken, I didn’t have to worry about doing anything special to catch his attention—I was able to just be myself. Because of this, David got to know me for who I really was.When Leisel came to OKC, I got to know her better as a person while I worked alongside her and saw her heart for ministry. As I spent more time with her, one thing about her that really jumped out at me was the way she was passionate about God. Her eyes would light up as she would share something God was teaching her, or how He had used her to reach out to a child. She had an enthusiasm that radiated from her.
Another thing I really admired about her was that she was committed to serving the Lord with her life, especially her single years. Not that she was running from marriage, or that she would be any more spiritual if she got married at the age of 28 as opposed to 18. But until God brought along the one she was to marry, she was focused and committed to making the most of her years of singleness.
The lightning bolt strikes
During a conversation I had with Leisel, as she shared one of the burden’s that God had placed on her heart, it grabbed my attention. It was like all of a sudden God had struck me with a lightning bolt: here was a girl who had a calling on her life that was almost identical to mine.
God had given me a vision to host a summer missions program in my own area at home in Portland, Oregon. Many of the details had been worked out, but I needed a guy leader. David came to mind as the perfect person, and the only one who could fill the role, so I asked him if he would consider coming and serving as an instructor for OEI in the summer of 2006.
At this point I was becoming interested in Leisel, so the idea of helping her over the summer was very appealing. However, I spent a lot of time in prayer over it, because I wanted to be sure that if I went to Oregon to help, I was going for (mostly) the right reasons. Feeling that the Lord was leading me to help with OEI, I decided to participate in the program that summer, and over the next few months began helping Leisel as we brainstormed teaching ideas, made a promotional video, and generally prepared for OEI. During that time, though neither of us realized it, we were becoming best friends.
As I began to work more closely with Leisel, I was truly amazed at what an amazing young woman she was. When I was younger, I had never taken the time to actually write out the qualities I wanted in my future wife. But still in the back of my mind, I was forming this picture of the ideal woman that I hoped my wife would someday be like. Leisel absolutely blew that ideal woman away.
I began to pray about the possibility that the Lord would be leading Leisel and I together, because I wanted to be sure of God’s leading before I pursued any relationship with her. I didn’t want to start a relationship if I had no intention of it resulting in marriage. Meanwhile, I’m wondering what Leisel was thinking. She had to notice that something was happening on my end.
I didn’t notice anything. I was completely oblivious. :) I had a blast working with him, and I admired him immensely, but there was no way an awesome guy like that would be interested in me, so I had not a clue he was thinking anything. :)
Making the move…
I continued to pray about Leisel, and seek counsel from my parents and close friends. God confirmed that it was His direction for me to pursue a relationship with her. Leisel was a romantic girl. I knew there was no way I could ever get her if I weren’t prepared to win her heart. Ultimately, her decision whether or not to marry me would be the most important.
Still, I saw her father as the present spiritual authority in her life. I felt it was necessary to receive his permission and blessing before pursuing any relationship with his daughter. So one day I called Leisel’s dad and, while stuttering pathetically out of nervousness, told him how much I admired his daughter, and how I felt that the Lord was leading us together for the purpose of marriage.
By this time, a few months had passed since I had first noticed Leisel, so as much as I tried to hide my interest, I figured it was totally obvious to her.
Everyone else could see it, but I couldn’t! When my dad called to tell me that David had called him, I was shocked. As much as I liked and admired David, I KNEW it would never work, and though I didn’t think David was really interested, I told my dad that I thought it would never work- just in case.
Ever since I can remember, my dad would tease me and say, “Leisel, what am I going to do when all those guys start calling me, and asking to marry you?” He would immediately answer his own question with, “I will probably give them a list of ten or more things to work on, and then tell them after they’ve fixed all those things in their life, then they can come talk to me again.” I was terrified! Of course I knew he was only teasing, but I was sure he would do something like that, and no guy would stand for it, so I would probably never be able to get married.
So, after I got over the initial shock of hearing that David called, I expected to hear that my dad had given him a list to work on, and that I wouldn’t have to worry about it any more. But that was not the case. My dad had told him he would talk to me about it! But I had told him that I KNEW it would never work! Where was the list? What about the ten things? What did he need to fix?
Thankfully, God knew what was better for me, and after I had given my immediate answer of “no”, my “no” turn into a “maybe”, and eventually I felt that God was leading us to start a courtship relationship.Courting Leisel was a blast. It was very wholesome and very pure, but also very fun and romantic. She was the first girl I had ever given flowers to, and it was so fun trying to think of new ways to make her face light up and bring her joy. By the end of the summer, however, I began to notice that something seemed to be going wrong in the relationship.
Putting the relationship on God’s altar
David did everything right. He was the most amazing guy I had ever met. But as our relationship progressed, and things began to go faster and faster, I started to feel overwhelmed with the gravity of the decision I was making, and I just didn’t have peace about the relationship by the end of the summer. I didn’t feel ready to make as big of a decision as one concerning marriage, and I didn’t know what else to do but to end the relationship.
Hearing Leisel say that she no longer felt peace about the relationship was about the most devastating thing I could have imagined. It had seemed so perfect that we should be together. It reminded me God telling Abraham to sacrifice his son, Issac, in Genesis 22. Here, I was forced to give up what had become the dearest thing in life to me.
In the following weeks however, as I kept thinking back on my relationship with Leisel, God began to show me incredible insights about His love for me. I thought back on how I had loved Leisel and sought to make her happy, and how more than anything else I desired her admiration and affection. I began to see how the love God had placed in my heart for Leisel was just a very dim reflection of the love that He has for me as His child.
”Someone you can’t live without”
When my grandpa had first heard about David, he gave me some invaluable advice: “when you’re deciding whom to marry, don’t just settle for someone you can live with; find someone that you cannot live without.” The night David and I ended the relationship, my dad made a prediction. He believed that eventually, David and I would realize that we couldn’t live without each other, and that we would live happily ever after. This made me furious—I had determined that it was over, and I wouldn’t change my mind!
I spent the next several weeks just hoping that Leisel would call back and say that she had peace about the relationship. It seemed like it would be so perfect if she did. But I just knew that it was hopeless, because I thought she was too stubborn to change her mind. Over time though, I realized that the situation was completely out of my control. I made a choice to surrender the relationship to God, and trust Him with the outcome. He would have to write my love story.
In the fall of 2006, my brother and I came back to OKC for a short visit. While I was there, I saw David, and noticed that something about our friendship seemed to be very different. I began to wonder if maybe there was a possibility that things could be worked out.
A couple weeks after I left OKC, I was talking to David, sharing an idea for some new project we could work on, when he stopped me and said something to the effect of: “Leisel, there’s no point in us doing that because we’re not in a relationship that is headed anywhere.” This time the lightning bolt hit me. I realized that I had chosen to walk out of his life. That wasn’t what I had wanted at all! The thought that I might not get to talk to him or see him again really scared me. It was then that I realized that David was the one that I could never live without.
At this point I was trying to come to grips with the fact that I was going to have to learn to live without Leisel. It wasn’t working too well. Later that night she called me back and began to share that God was leading her to reconsider our relationship. We agreed to pray about it, seeking the Lord’s will for what to do next.
Falling in love, Spirit, Soul, and Body
We both were firmly convinced that God was leading us back together, and, still having the blessing of our parents, we continued our courtship relationship. Over Christmas break, David came out to Oregon to spend a couple weeks visiting me and my family.
David and I both had a desire that when we fell in love with our life partner, we would do so spirit, soul, and body. First spiritually, then emotionally, then physically. As we spent time together over Christmas, we realized that God had knit our hearts together spiritually many months before, and now He was giving us the privilege of falling in love emotionally.
Engagement
In January of 2007 I went to Oklahoma City to visit David. One day while I was there, he picked me up after he got out of school, and asked if I wanted to go for a walk. He took me to a nice public garden, and took me for a walk through many winding pathways. All of a sudden we came around a corner and walked right up to a gazebo that was all decorated with flowers, candles, chocolates, and pictures of us.
He then got down on one knee, and--
I would just like to interject that at this point, I’m very nervous. I had never done this before.
So ever since 2:30 P.M. on January 25th, 2007, I have gotten to look forward to July 14th, the day I will finally be married to the love of my life.
I can remember so many times being a little girl and bounding down the stairs in the morning, to hear my dad exclaim, “Good morning! We prayed for your husband today.” I always thought that was weird—how could he pray for my husband when he didn’t even know who he was?! But God knew. As I got older, someone encouraged me that since God knew who my husband was going to be, and since he was most likely already alive and walking the earth, I should pray for him. I began to pray for David years before I knew who he even was. I prayed that God would protect him, keep him pure, give him wisdom, strengthen his character, give him a vision and a purpose, etc. As I now know who it is that God has for me to marry, I see the person my parents and I have been praying for for years. I am in awe at how mightily God answered those prayers, and what an amazing and wonderful husband He has created for me. To God be the glory, great things HE has done!
I am so thrilled to get to spend the rest of my life with Leisel. She is definitely exceedingly abundant above all that I could ever ask or think.
To God be the Glory, great things He has done
Looking back on the way God has worked in our lives, we are reminded of how we are like small threads in a giant, beautiful tapestry. Viewed up close, one single thread may appear random, out of place, or even ugly. In the same way, events in our lives don’t always make sense right as they are happening. We may get confused because circumstances seem unfair, difficult, or just don’t make sense. But when we step back and look at the entire picture, we cannot help but stand in amazement at how God has woven the threads of our lives together into a beautiful tapestry for His glory.
Because God has been faithful in the past, we gladly trust Him with our future. And for now, we are elated to live in the love story that God has written for us.
