ON MARRIAGE & MISSION
It’s been a good opportunity to be formed together in faith because as FOCUS missionaries.
We’re able to be a witness to what it looks like to be in a vocation, which is marriage. It’s a lot more simple than I thought it would be, just letting God move through us rather than trying to force anything. It just feels so natural, and I’m really excited. I think it can be very fruitful starting out our marriage that way and immediately looking at how we can share the gospel with people in the ways that we can.
We’re very similar in a lot of ways, but we’re also very different, especially in the ways that we communicate with other people. So, for me, I’m very loud about my faith. I’m very expressive, very gung ho, very outwardly like, “We’re going to do this.” I think a lot about how I’m doing things, when I’m doing things—everything. I’m very type A.
But she’s a lot different. She’s so simple, and I don’t know, it’s really interesting, and I think it’s really cool to see the simplicity. I’m over here trying to figure out this whole puzzle in my head about how I’m supposed to serve Him and do the best, and she’s like, “Yeah, I just kind of do my thing,” and I’m like, “What do you mean?”
It’s really cool because it shows me a way to just live and trust in God and trust that He knows I want to do the best that I can for Him and that I’m going to fail. But like St. Augustine says, “Love God and do what you will,” because hopefully, in loving God, your will is conformed to His will as best as you’re able to do that. Experiencing a faithful life lived simply has been really cool.
The challenges over time are continuing the momentum. When I was interviewing for FOCUS, I thought this lifestyle of daily prayer and daily Mass and holy hour was going to be super easy. And it is in a sense because you’re relying on God, but at the same time it can become kind of monotonous. The fire kind of dies down sometimes, and you have to go back to that reflection and be like, “Okay God, what do You want me to do next? Because I do this every day. What’s next?”
Trusting also that she has been given to me as a gift and that there’s a reason God put her into my life to be my wife so that I could better serve Him. That’s what I’ve learned from her. Instead of trying to figure out the next five years, just be like, “Okay, I’m going to wait for God to move me whenever I need to be moved.” It’s brought a lot of peace and decreased a lot of anxiety and frustration.
“The best thing about having you on mission with me as my wife is watching you wake up like you just arose from the dead.”
“That was this morning.”
“The best part about having him as my partner on mission would be that he keeps me accountable to get me to Mass on time and go to holy hours during the day.”
“It’s not as funny an answer as he had.”
“It’s a good answer.”