Pastor matt burton was a widower. He and his late wife Leah had begun the church when there oldest was A baby. He worked construction for his uncle to supplement his income. The church took off. It grew by leaps and bounds. They had two more daughters. Then the unthinkable happened. She was killed in a car accident. The youngest daughter was three months old when her mom died. The pastor was dedicated. His family and church family helped him going it. His kids we're a major encouragement. It had been two years since the event. The pastor had done the best he could.
One day a friend called him." matt. It's Gary. " he said. "Hi, gare. What's up?" He said?" so? I have a friend who is single. She is a young lady. She goes to an evangelical church. She is good friends with Miranda. She liked kids. "He said.
" Are you really trying to set me up gare," he asked. "Miranda and I think that she would be a great fit for you. he said." She is evangelical" he asked."it is a baptist church, just not independent fundamental Baptist. It is a pretty solid church. If you like randa and can get her doctrinal statement."Gary said.
"Funny," he told him.
"So can I give her your email address?" Gary asked. "Yes. That's fine," he told him. "You will really like her. " Gary assured her. He was not so sure. Gary and Miranda were close friends of his. He did trust them. He was not sure he wanted to be set up on a blind date. He had considered exploring the option of remarriage but he was not sure he wanted to do it this way.
He was not committing to anything. He was only giving him the go-ahead for her to contact him. She might Not contact him. He might never hear from her. Even if she does contact him, if it is clear it is not working, he could sever the contact. He did not stress over it.
He had forgotten about the conversation with Gary. He had focused on the church and his kids. One day, he saw On his email that he got a message from Katherine Greer. He was a little nervous. He took a deep breath and opened the message. He read the email.
"Hello, mathew, I am Kathrine. I am 20 years old. I grew up in a Christia home. My dad is a deacon at my church.he has been A trustee as well. My mom is a Sunday school teacher. I have two older brothers and three younger sisters and a brother. My parents welcomed a baby girl two months ago. I was saved when I was six years old. My dad led me to the lord. I am currently in my senior at the sate university. I will be graduating in the spring. I am attending the greater Alfred community church. I am active in the church. I am on the praise and worship team. I am involved in the teen program in the church. I Am very close to my younger siblings. I love children. I like the outdoors. I love to play sports including volleyball. I would love to get to know you. Please write back. Katherine."
This decision rather or not to Write back would change the course of his life as well as his families. He did not answer right away. He mauled it over a day and decided to write her back. He sat down and hit the real button. he then got ready to compose his message.
"Dear Katherine, it is good to hear from you. I enjoyed your email. Gary and Miranda are close friends of mine. Gary was my roommate at college. I helped set up Gary with Miranda. "
"I am not sure what they told you. I am a pastor at a gospel baptist church in mission. I was an assistant pastor of the church my dad pastored. GBC was a church I started with a team sent by my dad's church. The church was overseen by the home church but was later incorporated as a separate church. The church is kinda old fashioned. we only use the King James version. We are an independent fundamental baptist church. We are the only bible believing church in the area. The other churches are a unitarian universalist church, catholic, and a united Pentecostal Church. A lot of people who used to commute to attend church have come to our church. "
"I am a widow. My wife Leah died shortly after the birth of our youngest. I have three kids. Lindsey who is six, Kenzie who is four, and Emmi who is two. It has not been easy being a single dad. My family and church family have been amazing. Lindsey has been a great encouragement and has been a huge help to me. "
"Most of my time is spent as a pastor or a dad. The girls love the outside. They like to play volleyball and soccer. I love history, I like theology. I love the outside as well. I would like to get to know you more. Hope to hear from you soon matt."
Katherine was a bit taken aback that she did not get a response from Matt. She hoped to hear from him. She kind of figured that maybe he was not interested. She kind of forgot about it. Then her phone chirped. She looked and there was an email from Matt. She reread it multiple times.
"Dear mathew, I was so happy to get your message. I am so glad to hear your church is doing well. I am glad that there is a good bible believing church is an area that has few gospel witnesses. "I am sorry for your loss. I can't even begin to know what you have gone through. I admire how you have kept going. You seem like a family man. I appreciate that. my family is very close and tight-knit. My dad and I are very close. I am a bit of a daddy's girl. My mom and I are close as well. It sounds like Lindsey is a daddy's girl. I like to stay home as well. I work at a convenience store when not in school. "
"We both like being outside. Your kids sound like they are really sweet. I hope to hear from you more. " she said.
He was excited to get her email. He quickly wrote back this time. "Hi, again Katie. Thank you for your words. It has not been easy these past years. I have been serving the Lord with a broken heart. I was never angry with the lord. I believe leane completed the task God had for her. I have good and bad days. Lately, I have had more good days. "
"Lindsey has always been a Daddy's girl. Kenzie looks a lot like her mom. She uses some of her mannerisms. Emmi is a little ball of sunshine. she always had been. She has never had a mom. "
They wrote back and forth. He did not tell anyone he had a pen pale. he did not even mention it to his sister. He was not ready to. He was not sure where it was going. He was not sure that it was going anywhere. He wanted to go slow and see where it went. He did not think it would go far at first. He figured that they would write back and forth for a while but then life would happen and then they would lose touch. Eventually, they would move on.
That did not happen. She kept writing so he kept writing. She found his social media page. She added him as a friend.she was not sure if this was the right move. She figured if it was not, he could always decline her request. She felt comfortable with him.she really started to like him. She was not sure how he felt. She feared he did not share those feelings. She feared he was still in mourning. she feared that he was not ready. she feared that he might never be ready.
She kept checking. He had not accepted the friend request. Then she got an alert. He had accepted her request. She was so excited.
She quickly checked his profile. He looked at the pictures he posted. She found him to be very handsome. she loved the pics of his kids. They were so sweet. She hit the like buttons. One picture she liked in particular. "Beautiful picture," she remarked.
She checked out his profile. His political situation was conservative Republican. he put independent fundamental baptist for religious affiliation. for work he listed the church, his uncle's construction company, and a store he had worked for, and the college book store where he was a manager. He liked his college, fundamental Baptist University. He liked several music groups from the school. He liked some books by Baptist authors and older authors. he liked old mystery and science fiction books. He liked andy, Griffith. She enjoyed the profile
He looked over her profile as well. She put Baptist for religious affiliation. she put Republicans for political affiliation. She liked contemporary Christian music stations and artists. She liked star trek and crime dramas. She liked books by John MacArthur And John Piper. He did not like who she read but that he could work on that.
"Hi Katie " he texted "hi matty, thank you for accepting my friend request. I was worried it was too soon. " she texted."no that's fine. I am ok with that. "He responded. " so, are you open to a relationship with me?" She asked. "I am open to a relationship with you. You seem like a sweet person. You are very nice. Are you open to a relationship with me?" He asked. "Yes. I definitely am open to a relationship with you," she answered.
"I will be honest. I want a wife who is a stay at home mom. I can provide it for you. I am a package deal. I am not looking for a babysitter but I would hope you would be a stepmom To my girls." He wrote.
"I totally understand. I assumed that. I am fine with being a stay at home mom. I know you will be a good provider. "She told them. " I wanted to make that clear." he texted.
They texted for a time. They started to talk on the phone. "Hello." He said."matty hi. It's Katie." she said. "Hi. How are you?" he asked "I am doing good? How are you?" Did she ask? "Doing great. I just out the munchkins to bed. I read them three little pigs!" He said."did you do voices?" She asked."i was not aware that was an option." he said. she laughed. "Probably not," she said.
"My siblings love animal noises and voices." She admitted. "I think most kids do." He said. "So what do you.think of me so far?" She asked. "So far so good. I am concerned that there is quite an age disparity.", he said. " I thought you might be. I am a very responsible person. I have worked since I was 16. I work hard. I have a good reputation and a good work ethic." She told him. "I can see that. I am concerned that you are more evangelical." He said."i figured. We can talk it over and work through that. I will submit to you." she said. "Ok," he said.
Next up Matt and Katie meet.
