Jim and Karen first met a few years ago while singing with the Saint John Paul II choir though we were just acquaintances. Some time after Karen's husband passed away Karen needed help with a project on her house. Jim, being a contractor and all around nice guy offered his help. Thus, began open communication between us.

Jim, in praying for Karen during her time of loss, received a message from the Holy Spirit. He said, "Wait for her." Jim said, "What?" And again, the Holy Spirit said, "Wait for her."

In August 2023, Karen and her daughter, Heather, were coming out of church and ran into Jim in the parking lot. He asked Karen if we could hang out some time and possibly go to a show. Karen replied, "But you are busy with work and family, etc." Later that day Jim called and invited Karen and Heather to a play at the Bigfork Playhouse Theater. After going to the show Jim and Karen began texting a bit.

A short while later, Karen was getting out of the shower late one night and felt the Holy Spirit go through her and tell her, "He is waiting for you." Karen knew the Holy Spirit was talking about Jim. Having never experienced anything like this before, and not really knowing Jim very well, Karen was a bit unsettled. Having prayed with Jim in group settings in the past, Karen knew that Jim had a special connection to the Holy Spirit. The next morning she texted him saying, "You know something. We should meet." We agreed to meet on September 1st.

The meeting: We met at Wayfarer's Park and had a picnic dinner. We talked about all kinds of things and had a very strong connection. Karen finally got up the nerve to tell Jim that the Holy Spirit had told her he was waiting for her. Jim, totally blown away, said, "What? The Holy Spirit told me to wait for you!"

Thus began our journey of getting to know each other in a deeper way.

Our first real date was a trip to Glacier National Park. We embarked on a hiking adventure and held hands for the first time.

We each knew that we were meant to be. We just hadn't shared it with each other. In October Jim was asking the Lord about our relationship and He told Jim to do what was on his heart. Jim asked Karen to marry him on October 26th and Karen said, "Yes!"