Caleb: I had always hoped to find someone, get married, become a dad, and raise a beautiful Christian family.

Marilyn: I always dreamed of being a wife and a mom. For years I prayed for a man who would love Jesus more than me, knowing that if he did, he would treat me accordingly.

Caleb: The older I got, the harder it sank in that maybe I wasn’t ever going to find someone. By the time I was 27 years old, I had not been on one single date in my whole life, which was very discouraging. I kept praying, Lord, if you have someone for me, I pray you would reveal her in your timing. That’s just it, in “Your” timing is what I said. Secretly I wanted it to be my timing.

Marilyn: Throughout my teenage years I was never the popular type. That is, I was popular as a friend but I was never the one asked out on a date. Every year, I would think, maybe this year. But it never happened. I also thought I’ll be married by 25. But 25 came and then 26, 27…and I was still single. And it started to make me feel like I wasn’t good enough for anyone. I figured something must be wrong with me.

Caleb: I ended up trying some dating apps, so many I don’t remember. I can’t count the rejections, and the recreation of accounts, or how much I spent! I was about to give up, and didn’t even want to try to look anymore, when one day I was scrolling on Facebook, and came across an advertisement for Elite Singles. I hesitated but kept going back to it. I wasn’t quite sure if I should give it a try and risk more rejection. But something in me told me to click on it, anyway. And so I signed up that day…sometime in June 2023.

Marilyn: Friends had told me to try online dating but I refused. I always said, I am not THAT desperate. But God had other plans. In 2022, I started praying to find a new church and the Lord led me to Sandia Baptist in April 2023. The same time I was praying for a new church, I prayed for a new friend and confirmation if maybe I should try online dating after all. When leading me to Sandia, God answered one prayer. When He made my path cross with a nice young lady my age at church, He answered my second prayer. And when my new friend told me, she met her husband online, I knew the Lord had answered my third prayer. I signed up that weekend (in June 2023) and met a guy shortly after. We messaged for 2 months but then, one evening, mutually decided to stay friends. The next morning, I was heartbroken over the fact that I was still single and thought it might be my destiny. But the Lord led me to go back to a different online dating site I had tried once before and didn’t care for at the time…Elite Singles…I felt like I was to sign up for it again. I remember being frustrated, saying “fine!” because I didn’t want to spend more money but I listened and signed up anyway and one of the first suggested profiles I saw was of a handsome man from Colorado whose values impressed me.

Caleb: I logged on one day, and had something different than I normally saw. Someone named Marilyn had liked what I said about my testimony. Usually I would get likes, or random messages, but no one had done that before. It intrigued me. I clicked on her profile, and immediately noticed her smile and thought she was a beautiful woman. I read her testimony, and liked what she had to say. I was like wow! She sounds like she’s a great Christian girl I would get along with. The one problem: she was in Albuquerque and I didn’t want to try long distance, but something in my heart kept at me to send her a message. I did, and I couldn’t be happier that I did.

Marilyn: Caleb messaged me the same day I had signed up. It was Sunday, August 27, 2023. And since then, there has not been a day that I didn’t wake up to one of his good morning texts or gone to bed without him saying goodnight to me. When I signed up for online dating, I came across some very weird people but the Lord had a plan. He led me to this amazing man who has become more precious to me than I can say. And who has managed to make me feel more special than I ever thought I was. He proposed on August 31, 2024, kneeling before me at my favorite place, the river at the Bosque in Albuquerque. And now I can’t wait to spend my life with him.

Caleb: Now, I no longer have to ask the Lord to reveal her in His time. I pray, Lord Jesus, please protect, please comfort, please take care of my future wife, Marilyn.

Marilyn: For years I prayed for Caleb before I had even met him and I wondered who I might marry. I hoped he would be a good man. But God blessed me abundantly more. Never ever did I think I would end up with such a kind, caring, selfless, devoted man who would do anything for me and make me feel like a treasure. I’m beyond grateful God blessed me with Caleb. I found my best friend and my husband in him.

Caleb: I no longer wonder who or when. I can see her now and know who she is, and know where she is. It’s an amazing feeling!

Marilyn: For years, Caleb and I waited and trusted God, knowing that if He had someone for us, He would bring us together. And He did. In His timing, by His grace and because of His great faithfulness. And so our prayer is that our story, our wedding and our marriage will bring Him all the glory He alone deserves. For if it hadn’t been for our good God and His perfect plan and timing, what would’ve been the chances that this girl from Germany and this guy from Colorado would’ve ever met?

“For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.”

Jeremiah 29:11

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