The first time God spoke to me in a dream, I was a junior in high school. I had asked the Lord to select the guy He wanted me to be with, the one I would one day marry and love forever. I was afraid that if up to me, I would select the wrong guy.

I accepted Jesus as my Lord and Savior three years earlier. Since then, I have tried to make only right choices, but of course, I haven’t always; my sisters can confirm this. However, my experiences have taught me that, sooner or later, there are consequences to pay for bad decisions. Choosing my forever love was not a decision I wanted to take lightly. I didn’t want to risk being paired with the wrong guy, I wanted who God wanted for me.

I began praying and asking the Lord to lead the right one to me, to help me be patient in the wait, and to let me recognize when he came into my life. Within a few weeks, I had a dream in which I saw Tom Wolf asking me out. I very clearly heard July 16th.

I woke the next morning and told my mother that God had just spoken to me in my dream about Tom. That Tom was going to be asking me out on a date.

Mom knew Tom. He and I started first grade together, and because of our small class size, we spent our school years hanging out with the same friends. We also lived on the same road, two miles apart, went to the same church, and were both actively involved in the youth group. Mom liked Tom, but she just had to ask whether I had a secret crush on him or if I had heard that he had one on me. Neither was the case.

A month after Tom appeared in my dream, the youth group went to Indiana Raccoon Lake for a day of boating, swimming, and picnicking. I can’t say if it was the sight of me in a bathing suit or not, but I can say that at the end of the day, Tom asked me out for the following Saturday. July 16th. The calendar date was like a neon sign flashing: Tom is the one! Poor Tom, I thought, he has no idea I am his future wife.

A few months after dating, I told Tom about my prayer and the dream I had been given of him. His eyes got big with a look of astonishment. Tom confessed he had been praying a very similar prayer to mine. He had been praying for God to lead him to someone he could grow old with and love forever, to only ever have one first date, and for the courage to ask the person out, whoever she might be.

God heard the prayers of two friends seeking the same thing: a life of love. He intertwined the prayers to make us one, to make us one with Him, to make us a match made in heaven.

Thank you, Lord, for a life of love.

I will praise the LORD, who counsels me; even at night my heart instructs me. – Psalm 16:7

Note: For our 30th Wedding Anniversary, my gift to Tom was having our story put to song. Listen to our song Life of Love.