A Successful Courtship!

Hello again! I know that it's been about six weeks since our last exciting post on January 1st of this new 2015 year. And, first of all, Rachel and I want to thank all of you for your kind words and prayers during this exciting time of our lives. Our courtship has been a growing experience for both of us, and today, we are happy to share how the Lord has led us this far.

In his book Boy Meets Girl--Say Hello to Courtship, Joshua Harris writes, "A successful courtship is one in which two people treat each other with holiness and sincerity and make a wise choice about marriage--whether the choice is yes or no" (2005, 206). I could not put this concept of having a "successful courtship" in better terms! Like Rachel and I mentioned on our last post, the purpose of our courtship was to determine our compatibility for marriage through prayer, counsel, and seeking the Lord together. And, through this last five months, we have strived to "treat each other with holiness and sincerity." So, through the grace of God, we have both arrived at a peaceful God-given agreement that we are not compatible for marriage. Today, Rachel and I would officially like to make it public that we have ended our courtship.

However, we would ask you that you remember that this is a decision that we both feel 100% at peace with since it was a direct result of lots of prayer, seeking the Lord, and counsel from our parents. Rachel and I both consider our courtship to be a "successful courtship" because it was God-honoring and purposeful. We are excited to share this result with you with hope that you too will help us give God the glory for revealing Himself to us during this exciting and growing time!

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Rachel wrote the following words for this post . . .

First, I would like to praise God that He works everything together for good. I also praise Him that He is always drawing us closer to Himself. John and I began this courtship with that goal in mind. That God would draw us closer to Himself, and that His will would be done in our lives and through our testimony.

We had a great time getting to know each other better, but in the process, God showed us that we are not headed in the same direction in some areas of our lives. I thank God for the friend I have in John, and the lessons I have learned from him. Because of the love God has bestowed on us as people, we can glorify Him even through our relationships by preferring one another above ourselves and showing Christian love even when our paths are led apart.

Thank you so much for your interest in our lives and for your prayers. To God be the glory!

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We are excited to continue to seek the Lord for the direction that He has for each of our lives, and we give Him the praise for allowing us to serve as a testimony that a God-honoring relationship is possible. Rachel and I are still great friends, and will continue to be. This is not a terrible, complicated break-up, nor do we hold any wrong feelings against each other. Like we have both said, we are praising the Lord for revealing Himself to us in such a powerful and real way, and we are joyfully continuing to trust Him for both of our futures.

Thank you for your prayers and support! To God be the glory!

Job 1:21b  "The LORD gave, and the LORD hath taken away; blessed be the name of the LORD!"