Ben and Cathy met online the Fall of 2022, and started dating January of 2023- despite Cathy originally suspecting Ben was from Columbus, Ohio and not Columbus, Georgia!

The Lord opened doors for Ben to be able to travel as he was finishing his family medicine residency at Fort Benning in Georgia and made several drives up to Indianapolis where Cathy lives in a community with Christians in Mission with the People of Praise. Cathy made several trips to see Ben in Georgia and meet his church family at Highland Community Church, including one busy weekend after serving the previous week at a youth camp in Buffalo and traveling to the funerals of both of her grandfathers. The long distance aspect of their relationship provided ample opportunities for creativity and fun in getting to meet one another’s families, such as at Ben’s brother Jon graduating from physical therapy school, or celebrating Cathy’s mother Louise retiring from nursing.

As they got to know each other more and their relationship deepened, Cathy was struck by Ben’s generosity to those around him, and Ben was attracted to how intentional Cathy was in choosing to live in close community. And they both noticed the simplicity and power in praying with one another. That summer as Ben and Cathy spent time together on his drive north to his new duty station in Alaska, he had the increasing suspicion that he was 'traveling in the wrong direction' the further he drove away from Cathy. As Cathy and Ben continued to have direct conversations that summer to discern if the Lord was leading their relationship toward marriage, they became convinced He was!

With a great assist from Cathy's sister Teresa, Ben traveled to Indianapolis in September to propose to Cathy, and she said yes! With many changes on the horizon for Ben and Cathy, they continue to experience joy and peace as they anticipate the changes ahead of them, and look forward to celebrating their marriage with each of you on April 27th.

Registry