“You are seriously planning to forgo all wedding gifts?”

In 2010, I visited the Holy Land on a Biblical pilgrimage with a group that included Amanda (my fiancée at the time and now wife), my parents, and dozens of friends from our community. Amanda had come into the Church a few weeks earlier, and now we were walking in the footsteps of history and praying together at each stop along the way.

At the end of our trip, Amanda and I decided to fund a four-year college scholarship for a Christian living in Israel through the Franciscan Foundation for the Holy Lands (FFHL). We were soon matched with a young man named Nicola and communicated with him via email and social media to celebrate the news.

As part of our wedding the following January, we asked our guests to forgo traditional wedding gifts and instead donate to the FFHL in support of Nicola. I was deeply moved by my 21-year-old wife’s willingness to make this sacrifice on her special day. Witnessing Amanda listen to the Holy Spirit and then act in charity and love was inspiring. Her YES to God served as a tone-setting moment for the rest of our lives together.

Fast-forward to winter 2023. We were preparing for the arrival of baby #7 while also praying for many difficult pieces to fall into place so that we could purchase our new home. It was an exhausting time, to say the least, and during my morning prayers, I suddenly thought of Nicola. I had left Facebook years earlier and hadn’t connected with him in a very long time. For some reason, I felt called at that moment to check on him and sent a quick note from my new email address.

To my surprise, Nicola responded that same day. He let me know that he was in New York and would be traveling to Texas for a one-day training session at his new company later in the week. He had never been in the United States before this moment, and the hotel where he would be staying in Texas was less than 30 minutes from my house. I cleared my schedule, knowing there was something about this moment that was bigger than both of us.

When I approached Nicola at the breakfast spot next to his hotel where we agreed to meet, we immediately embraced each other as if we had been lifelong friends. We shared stories, pictures, dreams, and even took turns praying in English and Arabic. It was one of the most enjoyable and memorable meals of my life.

I couldn’t believe the providential details of this encounter. Nicola let me know that he had been in St. Patrick’s Cathedral in New York City offering a prayer of gratitude for the opportunities he had received in his life, including his college scholarship, when my email arrived. Before even responding to me, he called his wife to let her know that God had answered his prayers again and that there was a chance he and I might meet in a few days. Had I waited a few days to send that email, I would have learned that he had come and gone from Texas for his only visit, and I would have missed my chance to have this meeting.

He and I exchanged heartfelt stories about our wives and children. He was blown away to learn about the health scares we endured with Ambrose, and I was on the edge of my seat as he shared the details of his immediate and extended family members he has throughout his village and the traditions they share during the Christmas season. Our conversation generated a spiritual joy that cannot be put into words.

Nicola expressed his overwhelming gratitude for the opportunities he received as a result of the scholarship, including the new job he landed that led to this visit to Texas. But Amanda and I knew that we got the better end of the deal. By making this sacrificial gift, our marriage vows were covered in prayers and blessings that can only come from serving God, loving God’s will, and serving others for His sake.

As I drove away from breakfast, my eyes filled with tears. I knew I wouldn’t see my friend again anytime soon, but I wasn’t sad. Rather, I was overcome with gratitude, and I felt that God gave me a sense of peace and knowledge that everything would work out with our new home purchase. Little did I know that moving into the new home would lead to a series of miraculous events that ultimately saved the life of my little Benny Pro.

I can remember calling Amanda as I drove back to our side of town and trying to explain that I suddenly had a sense of clarity and understanding of God’s plan for our family and this house, even though I still couldn’t explain how we’d make it all come together.

Nicola is always in our prayers, and his friendship is a reminder of what truly matters in this world. As St. Francis of Assisi says towards the end of the Prayer for Peace, “It is in giving that we receive.”