The woman of my prayers

Several years ago, I got fed up with dating. The idea of “chatting-up” a woman I had just met no longer appealed to me. I desired a long, lasting, meaningful relationship; I wanted to find the one. One day I had a sincere conversation (or prayer, whatever one might call it) with the Lord. I expressed to Him my desire to find ‘the one’ but I wanted it to be real. I didn’t want to be drawn to her by her physical appearance but I wanted something deeper; I wanted love. So I asked the Lord if He could cause love to sneak up on me. I wanted to meet ‘the one’, develop a very close friendship and only then realise my feelings and fall in love with this person. I then proceeded to list character traits which I desired ‘the one’ to have.

Some time later (the length I cannot recall as I had even forgotten the prayer until several years later when I was preparing to propose to my soon-to-be wife), I was invited by a close family friend to a picnic. It was a simple gathering; just the close family friend’s direct family and another family (a mother, her two daughters and her son) and myself. We ate, played games and went our way.

Over the next few years, I attended several gatherings hosted by the same family friend and even ended up attending the same church. Coincidentally, the family from the picnic also attended many of these gatherings and happened to be members of the same church.

Overtime, I grew closer to that family almost without realising. The mother became my "aunt"; I would play games with the son, and tutored the eldest daughter in playing the piano. Overtime I developed a deep friendship with the younger daughter. We became the best of friends despite constantly teasing each other. I must stress that at this point I had no attraction to either of the daughters and my closeness with the family came naturally and innocently with no ulterior motives.

One day I took the teasing a little too far during a phone conversation and the youngest daughter swore never to speak to me again and hung up. Naively, I chuckled to myself thinking, “I'm not fazed by any woman" but that was far from the truth. In an instant, it was as though the Lord open my eyes and I suddenly realised how much I missed her, how strongly I felt towards her and how in reality, I loved her.

The next day I called her to confess my feelings. She hung up. The day after that she called me to say that she had mutual feelings. At first, we agreed to remain as friends until we both felt ready for more.

When that time came, I requested permission to start courting from both her mother and the pastor of the church we both attended. I was refused. I continued to ask every year for the next three years, jumping through every hoop that was placed before me until I had both of their consent. The years that came next were challenging but enjoyable. We grew incredibly close; we became inseparable.

Next was the proposal. It was around the time I determined within my heart to propose that the Lord reminded me of my prayer several years before. On reflection, I realised that myself and my girlfriend (now fiancée) came together exactly how I had asked the Lord. In addition, she ticked every single box I had laid before the Lord. Her characteristics and personality were exactly the same.

Now, as we're months away from our wedding, I'm in awe of how our different personalities complement each other in such perfect symmetry. I can truly say she is the bone of my flesh. I am certain that it was not my wisdom to pray that prayer several years ago; I had no idea what kind of person would be good for me. I know it was the wisdom of God which led me to pray as such. Whatever we pray in accordance with God’s will must certainly come to pass!