In the following interview, Faye (50) talks about meeting her husband, Steve. Their sweet love story reveals how important it is to trust the Lord and follow His leading. She liked Steve for years before anything happened, but God knew what He was doing. Today Faye and Steve are missionaries in France.

BTO: How did you and Steve meet?

Faye: Steve and I met in middle school. It sounds like a romantic relationship that was destined to be from early on, but I should clarify that it was in the teacher’s lounge of Woodworth Middle School. I was a new teacher in the district, and Steve was working as a substitute teacher in order to supplement his part-time Youth for Christ salary. My interest was piqued as soon as I realized that he was a Christian and still single!

BTO: How did you know he was interested in you, and what did you do about it?

Faye: For the longest time, I didn’t know that he was! We were casual friends for eight years before we started dating. I liked him the entire time, but his signals were not very clear to me. Every few months, I would get a call from him out of the blue, and we would chat or plan to grab a bite to eat together. We were at different churches, but our paths would occasionally cross and we would always talk. I had even helped out with Youth for Christ, hoping he would notice me. At one point, I deliberately stopped putting myself in places I knew he would be because I liked him so much, but nothing seemed to be happening. 

Then, eight years after we first met, I was praying about Steve. I didn’t want to keep liking him if it wasn’t going to be returned, and I felt God leading me to let him know that I was interested—something I had sworn I would never do.

A few weeks before this, God had really started working on Steve’s heart, and he knew that it was time to start intentionally “friending.” He sensed that the Lord had brought me into the area for him but, for various reasons, hadn’t made a move to pursue me until God really made it clear to him. Once we started dating, he was all in, but I didn’t realize that. Steve isn’t the best at expressing his emotions, but his heart was true and his actions spoke more than mere words. I was totally ready to open up my heart to him and trust him with it.

BTO: You were in your late 30s when you got married. What did God teach you during the waiting time? What would you tell a single person who has been waiting to meet their spouse?

Faye: We got married the week before I turned 40. And yes, the wait was long and often hard. I had set my heart to stay faithful to God and to obey Him. God was my all, but I wrestled with depression and even anger at Him. I remember feeling that it wasn’t fair that all I wanted was to please God, and He wouldn’t give me the desire of my heart. I questioned if serving Him and waiting on Him were worth it. But God taught me that He wasn’t a magical genie up in heaven. I didn’t serve Him in order to get the blessings I wanted. I served Him because He alone is worthy.

And the more I got to know Him, the more I saw His goodness. During the years of waiting, He revealed His incredible love and the depth of His grace. I had grown up with some deep wounds from my family, and in the years of waiting, God showed me His Father heart and healed parts of me that I never even knew needed healing. Looking back, I am so thankful for the wait and the intimacy I was able to have with the Lord. It built a firm trust and confidence in His character and ways of doing things. 

For any single person waiting to meet their future spouse, I would just encourage them to trust the Lord and His timing. Stay busy serving the Lord with all of your heart, soul, mind, and strength, and let Him do whatever He wants to do in you and with you. Focus on being the best child of the King that you can be to please your heavenly Father.

God is faithful and He is good. He brought me a husband that loves the Lord, and we are better together in serving the Lord than we ever were on our own. If I had settled for someone else or took things into my own hands, I don’t know if I would be able to say that. Trust Him and press into Him. His answer to your prayers will be greater and better than what you can think or imagine.

BTO: As a couple, how do you and Steve pursue your dreams together?

Faye: Our greatest dreams have been to serve the Lord and please Him. When we first married, we both worked with young people, but while we were dating, we believed that our future together would include missions. Though we didn’t know where that would be or what it would look like, we just waited for the Lord to open up the doors before us. (I guess we had both already learned to wait on the Lord and trust Him in the wait!) God clearly led us to serve in France, and He is allowing us to serve in a local church as well as be a witness to our neighbors.

Steve and I are very different people, which can sometimes cause a clash, but God has used that to complement each other’s strengths and weaknesses. Steve’s outgoing nature has helped us to meet and grow to care for so many people, and my ability in French has helped us to go deeper in relationship. Together, we are able to love people and share our love of Jesus with them.   

Our greatest dream is to hear Jesus say, “Well done, good and faithful servants,” and we are pursuing that dream together.

Interested in reading more about dating, relationships, and your walk with God? Here are a few articles on related topics:

• When Mr. Wary Falls for Miss Sassy: An Interview with Brooke

• Finding Love in Unexpected Places: An Interview with Susie

• Dealing with Grief and Loss in Your Relationship: An Interview with Amy

• God Keeps His Promises: An Interview with Trinity

• Dealing with Fear in Your Dating Relationship: An Interview with Matt

For more information on sex, marriage, and finding the person who is right for you, get a copy of Becoming the One by Salomé Roat. Click here to learn more. The book is also available in Spanish.