How I Met Your Mother: Part 1: A Preface

Over the course of the next month, I would like to share with you the story of Candice and me and the relationship that has developed over the past 11 years since we first met. First things first, the story of how I met Candice must be prefaced with a core belief of mine about who God is. This is essential if you are to understand the perspective that Candice and I have in viewing the world around us.

Above all things, I believe that God is sovereign. That means that before the beginning of time, the life of Candice and I was written. Therefore, all the events that drew Candice and me together have in some indescribable way been outside of our own will. Nothing about our relationship was left to chance. It is all a part of God’s perfect plan to bring glory to Himself by reflecting His love into Candice and my relationship together. One could argue that I can take credit for proposing to Candice, marrying her, choosing to be a good husband, etc. But in a deep analysis of all of these things that many people might think I can take glory for, I humbly submit all that glory to God for preparing my heart to act in accordance to His will.

This belief is not blind. If my understanding of who God is indeed is correct, and His Word revealed through scripture is true, then on what basis should I hold these beliefs?

1. God revealed the predestination of the Prophet Jeremiah in the following verse:

“Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I set you apart; I appointed you as a prophet to the nations.”

2. The Apostle Paul speaks of predestination in his letter to the Romans:

“For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters.”

3. The author of Genesis tells of God creating a woman specifically for Adam. I find it easy to believe that God knew for certain Adam would accept Eve as his wife.

“Then the LORD God made a woman from the rib he had taken out of the man, and he brought her to the man.”

So, the reason that I cannot take credit for Candice’s presence in my life, or for anything good that I have in my life is that it was God’s sovereign plan that all these things would come into my life. I did not control which family I was born into. Where I am and who I am today is a reflection of external forces working on my life. For me, these forces happened to be positive. So when I speak of how I met Candice and how we have come to the relationship we have today, I will always speak in terms of “God directing” rather than “me choosing”.

One of the greatest external forces that have impacted the relationship that Candice and I share is family. Candice and I were both born into families who led us up with Christ at the center of the family. In more practical terms, there was love in our families and that love was unconditional. Our passion and purpose in life is to pass this on to our children. King Solomon spoke truly nearly 3,000 years ago when he said: “Start children off on the way they should go, and even when they are old they will not turn from it.”

The one thing I have reflected on lately that is so amazing about Candice and my relationship is the unity in purpose we have. We are two soldiers fighting in the trenches toward a vision of significance greater than our own selfish ambitions. We are always propping each other up to do greater things. My intent in the next month leading up to our 8th anniversary is to reveal to you the nature of what we have. I hope this is an encouragement and is refreshing to hear in a world that is becoming more and more convinced that the idea of marriage is dead. We hope that our real-life, in-progress story will be a shining example that marriage is indeed alive, thriving, and bearing fruit. This can be attributed to one thing only: Faith in Christ Jesus, the risen Son of God, bestowed upon us by the sovereign creator of the universe.

We are all a speck of dust in the course of history. We can either live for today or we can live selflessly so that future generations will benefit from what we invest into it today. Our marriage is a living testimony of the harvest reaped today by seeds sewn in generations past.