I have been reflecting a lot lately on how God helps us overcome seemingly impossible obstacles. A common thread in the ways God has opened doors in my life is that it is often completely different from how I expect or imagine them.
This is especially so in how I met my now-husband.
At the end of 2014, I was living in Melbourne, Australia. I had moved there almost three years earlier from Brisbane, hoping to expand my social circle and meet someone I could marry. I didn’t know I was about to meet my future spouse, who was living on the opposite side of the world — definitely not in Melbourne!
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In early October 2014, heartbroken after a romance turned sour, I booked a trip to California, Arizona, and Phoenix. I also tried to distract myself from my disappointment by signing up for Catholic Match. A friend of mine had met her partner on the site, and I figured there was no harm in giving it a go.
Matt said hello straight away, and we started chatting. He was living in Phoenix, Arizona at the time. Conversation flowed easily, and I ended up asking him if he might like to come and meet me when I was stateside in the next couple of weeks.
Matt took me up on the offer and drove six hours to take me out on our first date in Los Angeles. It was an easy date. It felt like we had known each other for years. He made the effort to spend more time with me in the following weeks before I returned to Australia.
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I remember having some time to catch my breath after I navigated the maze of security and customs at the end of my trip and having the sudden realization:
“I think I’m in a relationship, but I have no idea how this is going to work!”
Despite the seemingly difficult reality of our situation, I had a deep peace about this relationship, and so did Matt. I felt that I was following God’s will in pursuing it. I had prayed for the right person to marry for a very long time, and Matt met all the criteria that I had asked God to provide. What I had not factored in was that the person God would provide for me may be from a different country entirely.
God led us through all the obstacles to make it work. Without having visas for each other’s countries, we got to know each other through daily WhatsApp messages and phone calls. After considering relocation options, we settled on my moving to the U.S. My work was supportive and offered me leave without pay for several months, so I had the assurance that I could always return if the relationship didn’t work out.
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The next hurdle I had to overcome was figuring out how to get a job in the United States, as I had only entered the country on a tourist visa. But God’s timing is impeccable. I got a job on the day we moved to San Francisco after Matt wrapped up an east coast project. Though it wasn’t my dream job, it was perfect for what I needed — time to allow me to learn about husband and his country, which was all context for the next part of our journey together: marriage.
We became engaged on New Year’s Eve 2015 and booked our wedding in Australia for the following October 2016.
Yet there were a few other visa-related hurdles we needed to overcome before our wedding. But again, God faithfully delivered and gave us clear direction. One week before we flew to Australia for our wedding, Matt received provisional permanent residency in Australia. This was the first time we both had access to permanent residency in the same country.
Soon after our honeymoon, we relocated to Australia and have been living there ever since. Matt reinvented his career in Australia, just as I had done in the United States. He was very successful in doing this, and you can listen to more about his career journey on my podcast, the Profound Moments Podcast.
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Today, as with every day in our future marriage, we continue to choose one another amongst the chaos of everyday life — a messy house that never gets clean, busy work schedules, kids’ gymnastics and swimming lessons and never-ending bugs coming home from school. Practically making things work these days means making sure we have at least 20 minutes each day to speak and connect with one another about things that are not task-orientated, praying together daily about each others’ needs and our needs as a couple and a family, and taking time to date one another as much as is possible when babysitters are scarce and time is often not permitting. We also continue to ask God together for his guidance and help in our relationship.
Our story of meeting, making things work so we could discern marriage, and choosing this path even though we were living in different countries, is a testament that if you truly give everything over to God, he can do amazing things and make the impossible possible.
“With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.” (Matthew 19:26 NIV)
