James Ohen and Sheree Marlowe - Married May 2018
Both James and Sheree were reluctant to join DTHS because the thought of meeting someone online felt odd to them. Little did they know, God was working behind the scenes to have their friends encourage them to join the site.
Sheree was on the site for one year and quickly got discouraged when she sent several friend requests and did not receive responses, or would exchange communications with a brother and it would fizzle out. James’ experience was slightly different in that several sisters reached out to him and he was struggling to maintain the various connections.
Sheree was on the verge of disengaging and pulling her heart back when a sister asked her a pivotal question, “how much have you tried to encourage the brothers versus waiting to be encouraged?” She went on to encourage Sheree to pick 5-10 brothers, read their profile, and find one thing that inspires you and reach out to them just to encourage them as your brother in Christ. One of those brothers was James!
They first exchanged written communication in January 2017 and quickly connected on the phone to continue to build their friendship. After getting to know each other for a few months, Sheree traveled with a group of her girlfriends on a road trip to Toronto and went on her first date with James. It was love at first sight! They both felt as if they knew each other all their lives. As their friendship grew, so did their love for one another. Although they had both been married before, they didn’t allow their fears or their past to dictate their friendship. They openly talked through their past and made sure to do just that — keep the past in the past. They both decided to pray and let God move. Philippians 3:13-14 “Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.”
With a commitment to a long distance relationship traveling between Massachusetts and Toronto, they built their friendship with openness, humility, and with a conviction to keep God at the center. James and Sheree realized that several of their dreams aligned with a desire to help others. They are excited for their upcoming wedding in May and can’t wait to see all the ways God will move in their lives as a couple. Their story is one of “second chances.”
