True Freedom in God's Will: Priest & Recording Artist Explain How God 'Wrecked' Their Romance
This really is a beautiful story about true love and freedom in following God’s will!
In the upcoming book release, When God Wrecks Your Romance, recording artist Amanda Vernon and her best friend, Fr. Matt Fase of the Congregation of the Holy Cross, tell their story about following a path of true love and faith in God’s Will.
The book discusses Amanda and Fr. Matt’s journey as friends who fell in love in high school, but inevitably felt called away from each other.
Now, Amanda is a wife and mother of four children, and Fr. Matt (obviously) is a priest.
You can watch the trailer about their book below:
ChurchPOP had a chance to talk with Amanda about their independently-published book, which currently has a Kickstarter fundraiser going.
Amanda said that the book explains her and Fr. Matt’s relationship in high school, and how God eventually led them down different paths.
They didn’t merely follow feelings, but what they believed God called them to.
“We held these feelings for each other, and we both wanted the best for the other.
“Those feelings were not revealed until later in our lives when we were already headed down to separate paths.”
She continued, “I was waiting for Matt for years–not dating anyone else because I only thought of him”
Amanda added that while she waited, Matt was in seminary praying for her.
Fr. Matt’s beautiful prayer for Amanda:
“Lord, bless Amanda. Keep her safe. Keep anyone from using her or harming her in any way. Bring into her life the right man. A man who will love and cherish her, a man who will lead her to You. A man who is better than me.”
(When God Wrecks Your Romance)
Choosing God’s Will Through Prayer
Amanda said that there was “a definitive moment in which we freely chose to go our separate ways.”
She explained, “Our hearts were well-prepared for that moment. It was something that we had thought about and prayed about before, because we had kept each other in prayer.”
Amanda added that this separation ended up being a gift, because it “allowed us to feel our freedom” and “choose the path to which God was ultimately calling us.”
Friendship is as an “anchor of stability”
When asked how they remain friends after everything they’ve experienced, Amanda said that they “have gone through so much of the cross together before this point.”
“As we’re writing–sharing very deeply on an emotional level–the cross that we’ve experienced in our friendship is like an anchor of stability.”
She also explained that “navigating real heartbreak together has been conducive to building a deep friendship that is based on truth, rather than on sentiment.”
Her husband also gave them the blessing to write the book.
“I would not be able to peacefully write this book or share this story in any way without my husband’s complete blessing.”
You Are Not Alone in Submitting to God’s Will
Amanda explained that she knows there are others who have the same experience as she and Fr. Matt had.
She then quoted St. Therese of Lisieux:
“God would not inspire unattainable desires.”
Amanda added, “If there is a true desire in your heart, even if that desire is to be close to another person (one person in particular), the Lord allows that desire for a reason.
“Our deepest desires are placed on our hearts by God in order to fulfill them.”
She concluded, saying that “the caveat in which God fulfills our deepest desires is so much better than what we could imagine for ourselves.”