God can do immeasurably more than we can ask or imagine
This was the verse given by a friend to Margaret when she was feeling
it was the right time to seek a partner. Margaret joined the Network
in February 2005. She attended and very much enjoyed two social events
before meeting me.
I, John, was a widower who had originally joined Network in 1992. I
met my first wife Merryl through the Network Matching Service. Sadly,
after just under five years of marriage, Merryl died of cancer in
1998. Finding myself alone again I decided to rejoin the Network.
Again I used their Matching Service and met a number of ladies on a
one-to-one basis. However, in the summer of 2005 I noticed that a
Network Day event was being run in my area and decided to attend.
We both came to the Network weekend based at Newman College, Bartley
Green, Birmingham, but did not become aware of each other's existence
until the evening barbecue. Margaret and a friend joined my table –
and some considerable time later we were both left on our own, everyone
else having gone in to the barn dance. We still can't remember what on
earth we talked about for so long!
We arranged to meet a week later in Coventry Cathedral, having no
inkling then that it would be the venue of our wedding the following
year! We met a number of times subsequently and found that we had many
interests in common and shared a varied church background.
The following February we announced our engagement whilst with the
group from Coventry Cathedral during their annual week-long
pilgrimage. When we expressed uncertainty about our wedding venue,
they all declared that we should be married in the cathedral! And so
it was that there we were married on September 23rd, 2006 – a wonderful
occasion that we still find amazing when we look at the photos and
DVD. Having recently set up home together in a beautiful house in
Coventry, we are now looking for ways to bless others as we have been
blessed.
John and Margaret Lloyd