This past weekend my fiancé and I attended an Engaged Enrichment Conference at the Archdiocese of Milwaukee Cousin Center in St. Francis, Wisconsin. Held on Saturday from 9AM-4PM, this was a chance for engaged couples to learn more about the sacrament of Marriage and to begin developing a plan for their upcoming marriage. We had an amazing experience!
The day conference was hosted by Jenni Oliva, the Associate Director of Nazareth Project for Marriage and Family Formation and included various small talks given by married couples that each engaged couple was invited to attend. Some of the talks Morgan and I attended were Natural Family Planning, Top Ten Ways To Have A Happy and Successful Marriage, and Understanding The Sacrament of Marriage. My fiancé and I were so excited about each talk and about our upcoming wedding, that we were intensely listening and feverishly taking notes.
One of the things that we absolutely loved about each talk was how each married couple was relatively young and talked about their shared deep faith in the Lord. Each of these couples were so relatable to us. I thought it was so cool to hear a young man talk about his marriage and see his deep love for his spouse in the long deep looks that he gave her. It made me reflect about the type of husband I want to be for my future wife.
A little short of year ago I wrote a blog post about the importance of praying for your future spouse. I wanted to be specific and pray for the exact woman God intended me to be with for the rest of my life. I wanted a woman who had a great devotional love for the Lord, excellent character and morals, loved Taylor Swift and had to be a blonde. Yes, I got "that" specific. I found out that God loves specifics and He loves a couple that strives to make heaven their ultimate goal. I'm so glad that He gave me my beautiful bride-to-be Morgan Maxine and has placed many wonderful supportive friends young and old in our path. Embedded below is my original blog post from last year about praying for your future spouse. If you are looking for your future husband or wife, I pray that you look to God as your heavenly match-maker.
(photo courtesy of www.jackieandbobby.com)“A woman’s heart should be so lost in God, that a man must seek Him to find her.”
- Maya Angelou
My first few adult years have been a great learning experience as I seek God’s will for my life and I’ve found great encouragement through reading other Catholic blogs. There are many great resources online such as TheChastity Project, Catholic Gentleman, Jackie&Bobby and Arleen Spenceley that discuss dating, marriage, and chastity just to name a few. Check them out if you haven’t already!
I feel very strongly that it’s so important to find a woman that is completely in love with God. Good character is very important. After all, it is our spouse’s job to help us get to our heavenly destination. Upon reading Jackie&Bobby (a website run by a married couple) on the subject of a woman’s heart, I began praying for my future wife, offering her up to Our Lord at daily Mass as the host and chalice are elevated. In today’s culture, praying and waiting is not an option, but I believe that if you surrender everything in your life completely to God, wonderful things can happen and it’s exciting to see the results.
Here are a few ideas from JackieandBobby.com that can be helpful in searching for a spouse-
Pray for your future wife or husband
Consecrate them to the Blessed Virgin Mary
Start a 54 day novena (27 days in petition, 27 in thanksgiving no matter what happens)
Write a journal for your future spouse
Take comfort in knowing that God is always with us in everything we do and He will never let you be alone.
God loves you and He is always in control.
It was an interesting post to read. Thank you for the pictures. I am going to get married at one of prettiest Chicago wedding venues. It’ll be an intimate wedding and going to host pre wedding dinner for our friends and colleagues.
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