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Ah, the single life! Though I’ve never feared marriage, I’ve never looked for a marriage partner, either. In fact, I made a decision several years ago to allow the Lord to lead me to the person I should marry. I was confident God could do this after I trusted Him for a vehicle. (See the Ford Explorer Testimony). It was because of this decision that I was able to focus on the Lord and serve Him without distraction.
I enjoyed many profitable years of ministry including a construction ministry to widows, a national Children’s Conference ministry, and an orphanage ministry in India as well. I learned through these years that God will always supply my every need, and I knew that would also include a soul mate.
(Warning: Mushy part ahead!) I first met Jill Marconi in the middle of January 2003 when she joined with my brothers and me on a team to support an orphanage in India. The advance team and I picked her and the other team members up from the small airport near the orphanage. The only thing that really sticks out to me in my mind from when I first saw her was her bright countenance. No, it wasn’t “love at first sight,” but I did admire her eagerness to share what God had been doing in and through her life when she spoke to a local church congregation that afternoon.
Jill was a unique young lady. Older than most of the girls on the trip, she held a mature standard in her own personal life, and encouraged others on our team to do the same. Many evenings, as we gathered on the roof of the four-story orphanage, the team would share about what the Lord had been doing that day. Jill made us laugh with her simple, yet humorous evaluations of life in India. It was because of these times that our team parted as family by the end of the trip.
After India, my life returned to normal, helping Brian with children’s conferences from coast to coast. Then, in February, making our way back home from a children’s conference in Arkansas, Brian and I realized we would be driving right through where Jill lives. She and another India teammate, her best friend, Katee Cook, live in West Memphis, Arkansas. The two of them joined us that night for a great time of fellowship and reminiscing about India at Jill’s house before we got back on the road to our home in Michigan.
In March, Brian and I finished up a children’s conference in Virginia, while Jill flew to Michigan to visit another India teammate, our pastor’s daughter, Amanda Canaday. Brian and I finished our conference on a Sunday night and quickly drove home to surprise the Canadays and Jill. After Jill flew home, Pastor Canaday, who is not only my pastor and Godly mentor, but my good friend as well, said to me, “David, I think Jill is a Godly young lady who would be perfect for you.” He then suggested that I get to know her better as a friend. I laughed out loud because I had never had anyone suggest a girl to me before…much less comment on how I should “pursue” her! However, seeing his seriousness and valuing his counsel, I told him that I would pray about Jill and see if communicating with her would be best at this time.
Within that same week, James Connelly (the Team Leader for our trip to India) called and asked pointed questions about my future, including my plans for marriage. I told him how content I was and told him I was not thinking about anyone at the moment. He then told me that he and his fiancée, who went to India with us, were both praying that Jill and me would get married someday! I was shocked! I protested to James that such prayers were probably illegal, yet he disagreed, reaffirming that they would continue their prayers for Jill and myself. He was so thoroughly convinced that Jill and I would one day get married that I doubted his personal prayer life!
I continued praying for Jill on a regular basis, but kept up my prayers for God to bring me a life partner as well. I did not know if the “life partner” prayers would be answered by the “Jill” prayers, but I prayed on anyway.
I took another opportunity to see Jill on my way home from a conference in Houston, Texas, on April 13. I was driving with a friend, Isaiah Mays, who’d filled in for Brian at the conference, and we were both glad for a break in the driving monotony, as Jill welcomed us to her family’s home and invited Katee Cook over as well. Isaiah and I left that night refreshed and grateful for the fellowship.
During the rest of April and into May, I had no communication with Jill. I still didn’t know if Jill was to be my life partner, and the Lord was teaching me to wait upon Him. Thus, I wanted to be sure that God was leading before I started to communicate with her. The verses in Proverbs 3:5-6 had new meaning for me. “Trust in the Lord with your whole heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him, for he will direct your path.” I trusted the Lord for the timing of this relationship and knew that it would flourish if He wanted it to.
Near the end of May, I stopped by Jill’s house on my way to Florida for another children’s conference, and Jill invited me to stay for dinner with her family. I accepted the invitation and enjoyed the sweet visit with her family and the delicious home-cooked meal. Back on the road that night, I thanked the Lord our pure friendship and for the awesome time of getting to know her and her family even better.
I began to feel that I should let Jill know what I was thinking, so I ended up calling her on my way home from the Florida conference. I stopped at a rest area along the interstate, with my intent to tell Jill for the first time that I was praying for her, but I had not yet received clear direction from the Lord on if she was the right one for me. One thing I greatly appreciate about Jill is that she has never spoken on any matter until the Lord gives her freedom to do so. Well, after I told her that I valued her friendship, since she didn’t have any emotional attachments to me, she blew me away by telling me otherwise! She shared with me how God spoke to her heart and how she kept it in, choosing to let the Lord speak to me without her involvement. Her careful response put me at ease to seek the Lord further, and gave me a new respect for the way God works.
Over a month later, I drove to California with Brian for more children’s conferences. I took the opportunity while at home to download my e-mail, which I hadn’t done for several months. Out of the 269 e-mails I received, one stood out…yes, it was from Jill! She’d written a funny e-mail just after I had visited her before the Florida conference over a month previous. I sent a response the early morning of July 5, not knowing that Jill had prayed the night before for the Lord to again make clear to her if the friendship with me was of God. We now look back on that letter as the true beginning of our deepening friendship.
I spent much time with the Lord in the following two weeks (at the encouragement of both my parents), and I asked the Lord for peace regarding my friendship and relationship with Jill. I also asked the Lord to remove her from my mind if she was not going to be the one for me. God so clearly answered my prayers, and I began calling her my “Angel – a gift from God.” She has truly been the most amazing gift from the Lord!
Friday, July 18, 2003 at 7:04pm PDT. For the first time, I wrote to Jill via AOL Instant Messenger that I loved her...respectfully! (What a donkish way to tell her, eh?) On the morning of July 23, 2003, I took the opportunity to vocalize those same words to her over Alexander Graham Bell’s invention. I have not missed a day telling her that since. (Aww, isn’t that just too precious?)
On August 4, I received my parents’ full permission and blessing to visit and talk with Jill’s mom and dad about marriage, so I made plans to visit her once again…this time by myself!
The rest is history, my friends. Mr. Marconi and his precious wife granted me permission to begin something we’re calling courtship with marriage in mind.
So what does this mean for you? We hope this encourages you, married or single, to trust God! He loves you, and He cares for you so much…you’ll never be disappointed with His best for your life. Just trust Him! His timing is perfect.
Thanks for reading this…Jill and I covet your prayers for our future together, and we sincerely hope to be as much or more of blessing to you and your families as many of you have been to us.
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