Today I have three very special guests, my daughter, Elise Roper Younts, along with her husband, Wes, and his mom, Frieda (who’s also one of my best friends!). Elise and Wes walked their own lonely journeys through singleness before finally finding each other and marrying last March. Even though for most of their lives they lived exactly 7.3 miles apart, and Wes’s mom and I have been best friends for 28 years, they’d never met except in their preschool Sunday School class. You may remember Elise’s story from episode 19 about how her fiancé broke off their engagement and left her heartbroken. Wes has his own testimony of 10 years of singleness and not dating after he realized he had allowed dating to become an idol for him. I introduced Frieda to you, along with Julie, in episode one. Frieda and I walked with our children through their lonely seasons of singleness and prayed for them through the difficult times. We had no way of knowing at the time, but God was working behind the scenes to draw Elise and Wes closer to Him so that He could bring them together in marriage. In this episode Frieda and I discuss the struggles of parenting single adult children and I share the prayer I wrote asking God to bring Elise a husband. Elise and Wes share their wedding vows that they wrote to one another.
If you’re a single adult, or the parent of a single adult, and have grown discouraged in your loneliness and feeling left out, I pray this episode will encourage you and bring hope to your journey.
Links and Resources
Elise’s previous episode: Listen to How a 133-Year-Old House Helped to Heal a Broken Heart with Elise Roper
Frieda’s previous episode: Listen to The Importance of Friendship with Julie Bagwell and Frieda Younts
Jodie Berndts’ Episode: How to Pray Powerful and Effective Prayers for Your Children, No Matter How Old They Are with Jodie Berndt
Jodie Berndt’s book, Praying the Scriptures for Your Adult Children
Listen to Finding Love After Long Seasons of Singleness with Elise and Wes Younts and Frieda Younts
My prayer for Elise’s future husband:
Dear Lord, 6/30/20
As I pray for Elise’s future spouse, I ask that he would love the Lord with his whole heart. That he would laugh easily and exhibit humility. I pray that he would mesh with and strengthen our family, the way that individual Christians build up the family of Christ. Let Elise’s heart be drawn to a man who lives and walks with you. I pray that her future spouse would be worthy of respect, not a malicious talker and trustworthy in everything. I pray that they will have a mutual love, submission, self-sacrifice, caring, unity and respect. I pray that he would fear you and find great delight in your commands. Should you give them children, may they be upright and blessed. Give him wealth and riches, along with a righteousness that endures. Let him be generous and conduct his affairs with justice. May he be a man who has no fear of bad news. Give him a steadfast heart and equip him to trust you. Bring him honor.
2/6/21
And, Lord, I pray you would bring her a pure man, one who is serious about saving himself for his wife, just as Elise has done for her husband. Please bring them together, Lord.
Lord, 7/22/20
I pray that her future husband will have a strong desire to provide for and protect Elise and their children and that he would be one to dream with her and even have dreams of his own that will build up their own family. I pray they would love one another deeply and be on each other’s team. I pray his family would love and cherish Elise as well and would be good grandparents to their children. When Elsie meets him and he meets her, may they mutually know you have put before them their future spouse. Thank you, Lord. Amen.