Tim Keysear and Beth Owen - Married August 2011
Tim: Beth signed up for DT Heart & Soul in April of 2010. She wasn’t looking for anything serious. She was reluctant to join, but due to some encouragement from her friends she went ahead and signed up.
I signed up May 24, 2010. I too had been reluctant to sign up but due to the urgings of my friends went ahead and took the plunge. Beth and I were matched and had our first email on DT Heart and Soul June 3, which also happens to be her birthday. We messaged back and forth for the next few weeks getting to know one another. I then asked her if I could contact her on face book, and she agreed. The next step was getting her phone number and having some chats via text. Finally I took the big step and asked if I could call her. She agreed.
We talked and it went really well. The conversation went so well that before we knew it, 2 hours had gone by. We agreed to talk again in about a week. We both knew that a connection had been made. We had many things in common, including daughters of the same age. We got to know one another over the next few weeks and even took some time apart to make sure we were putting God first in this new friendship we were building. We both prayed that if the relationship was not something he wanted or it would not glorify Him that he would make it obvious. Thankfully He is blessing the relationship and making it apparent that he is not opposed to it.
Through our conversations we got to know each others’ hearts. What the true desires of our hearts were and also what our struggles are. I was able to share in Beth’s joy as her daughter was baptized. She has shared my struggles dealing with being separated from my children due to divorce. We both have grown closer to each other, but most importantly we have grown closer to God.
The International Leadership Conference was the first opportunity for us to meet and it was a fantastic time. I had already sought advice from Damon Brog who leads the church in Springfield regarding asking her if I could court her. He gave me the thumbs up.
Friday September 24, we had a break after the morning session of ILC. We went for a walk in the Bayside area of Miami. As we were walking we came across some statues that looked interesting. We walked up to one of them and it was a bust of this explorer. He had been called the “Knight of the Sea”. Beth had referred to me as her knight on several occasions and so I thought this was a good place to ask her. I took her hands in mine and asked her if I could date her, court her. She said yes! My heart flipped. It was a wonderful time.
There are many more details surrounding our relationship since then, all good, but this is the basics of how God has brought us together. We both are so grateful to God for bringing us to this point in our relationship. He remains the primary focus for us. I hope that this helps and it can encourage others in the kingdom that this can happen. DT Heart and Soul is a great way to meet other disciples, and distance is not an obstacle for God.
