Following is the speech that Pete’s best man, Jonathan Field, gave at the reception. Jonathan is also the man who recommended me to Pete. He tells the story of his involvement in our courtship in his speech.
G’day all,
My name is Jonathan Field and in case the accent hasn’t already betrayed it, I come from the West Island of New Zealand-also known as Australia. Today is a special day for all of us-most especially for Pete & Genevieve, but also for us their myriad family and friends as we rejoice in God’s goodness and anticipate God’s rich blessing both on and through this marriage.
I’m thrilled to be celebrating with you all, and thrilled to see so many in attendance. Today is a day to rejoice, and I thank you for joining the celebrations.
There are many people and unusual circumstances through which the Lord brought Pete & Genevieve together. I was one of the cogs in the Lord’s wheel, if I may so say it, and in fact have the unique privilege of being one of only three people in the entire universe who knew both Pete and Genevieve long before they finally met. This is their story, and I’d like to share it with you. But even moreso, this is God’s story, and we have all been thoroughly delighted to see His hand at work.
Pete
I first saw Pete in about July 2003 at a friend’s 21st birthday party, although I don’t specifically recall him from that event. My first recollection of Pete is roughly a year or two later (in March 2005) at a bonfire held on his parents’ farm in country Victoria, just north of Ballarat. Ballarat is roughly two and a half hours west of Melbourne, the capital city of the state of Victoria in Australia where we live, and Pete’s parents own roughly 80 acres of land just north of Ballarat. Technically speaking, they live in Coghills Creek, a place so tiny you’ll hardly find it on the map. And I must confess that a few wrong turns jeopardized my chances of arrival, but in the darkness I finally saw the roaring flames of the bonfire and knew I had arrived. To my surprise and delight, I already knew many of the people there- invariably friends through homeschooling-and so passed a very pleasant evening. I met Henk, Pete’s father, that evening, and remember enjoying a good chat and being impressed with his sincere passion for truth and righteousness.
Many of us slept over that night-myself in an open-air hammock near the dying fire-and then attended church with Pete the next morning, heading home en-masse early or mid afternoon. I got into conversation with Pete, and we discovered much in common, and I ended up staying late into the night that Sunday after all other guests had departed. In the end I caught a few hours kip and left at some unearthly hour on Monday morning! That’s how many hours we spent in conversation!
It was truly delightful to begin to get to know Pete. I don’t think I’d ever even heard of him or his family before, but we quickly discovered much in common. Both home-schooled-and proud of it. Both running a business-him in woodworking, and myself in computer software. Both passionate about seeing Christ and His truth impact every aspect of culture and lifestyle. Both committed to seeing every aspect of life as “sacred”, instead of buying into the false “sacred/secular divide”. And despite some differences in theological background, we discovered that the outworking of our faith was very similar indeed.
And here I must stress how extremely refreshing it was to meet Pete. Those who have been running a business for any great length of time, know how very different a mindset is required for running a business than for being an employee. Not that one is good and one is bad, but simply that employed friends rarely comprehend the struggles and stresses of business life. In addition, open, honest, trustworthy, passionately committed Christian young men who really think about every aspect of their life and let Scripture shape every aspect of their thinking-such men are rare and delightful treasures indeed-and when I find them, I like to stay in touch!
These are the men with whom I hope to see Christ’s purposes outworked in the decades to come. For those who don’t know Pete, he’s an honest, reliable, hard-working, Truth-loving disciple of Christ. He’s a country fella-or “country bloke” as we say in Australia. He’s very skillful with his hands. He’s a “philosopher” in the original sense of the word-a lover of wisdom. And, taking after his God, he has a strong creative flair too-evidenced in creative innovations in business, as well as decorative woodwork, metalwork, and even the occasional prose. I am proud to call him “friend”.
Now, I should say-and this is very important later in the story-that there is another thing Pete and I had in common. And it came out quickly in conversation. We’re both very, hmmm, particular about what we were looking for in a future wife. We both knew dozens, if not hundreds, of “nice Christian women”, but we both had a very strong sense of marriage as a calling with God-ordained purposes that wouldn’t simply be fulfilled by niceness alone. And as we compared checklists, if I may be so brutally honest, we discovered even a great similarity in the kinds of things we did and did not want in a future wife.
And because it is relevant, let me take a moment to list some of the things that Pete was
looking for :
- He wanted a wife who recognized that work is not merely something that a man must do in order to survive, but is in fact a noble calling and blessing designed by God Himself.
- He wanted a wife who recognized, valued, and joyfully embraced her calling as his primary earthly helper.
- He wanted a wife who was not afraid to undertake the different, the difficult, or the new. Who knows what challenges may come in the years ahead, and a woman who crumbles at the first sign of challenge or change, is not the kind of help we need! And the calling of helper-as Proverbs 31 demonstrates-may engage the woman in ways beyond what Western tradition recognizes.
- He wanted a wife who was passionately committed to letting Scripture impact and shape every aspect of her life.
- He wanted a wife who understood and loved theology-not merely able to recite the “what”s, but also with a good grasp of the deeper “why”s.
- He wanted a wife who loves children, and looks forwards to raising a new generation of culture-shapers.
- And in case that wasn’t enough, he also wanted his wife to be of compatible sense of humor, easy-going nature (i.e. not a “stress-head”), pretty, and with a creative flair.
Understandably, Pete was having some difficulty finding the girl of his dreams.
Genevieve
I first met the Smith family four years ago in January or February 2004. I had been studying at the Reformed Theological College in Geelong, and made fast friends with a vibrant Christian man there named David Waldron-known to most of you. I love New Zealand, and travel here every few years, and David, knowing my interest in home-schooling, suggested that I meet the Smith family on my next visit to New Zealand-as they run a prominent home schooling organization in New Zealand, and are passionate committed Christians. I travel widely, and I very deliberately network very widely-especially within the body of Christ, and lengthy journeys on far more tenuous connections have been made on many an occasion.
I’d also been interested in taking my only sister with me on my next trip to New Zealand. And so it was finally organized. Sophia (my sister) and I would spend two weeks in New Zealand, on a busy schedule involving visits to Auckland, Christchurch, Palmerston North, Feilding, and Marton, visiting many friends new and old. It was a delightful time. We spent two nights with the Smiths. They were extremely busy at the time, running a conference and hosting other international guests. And so our interaction was very limited. But what interaction we had was very good. I remember cleaning up after dinner one night, I think I was trying to help with the dishes or something. Genevieve was also involved in the cleanup, and we began discussing life, the universe, and everything, as those who know me know I am wont to do. I was quickly impressed with the depth of thought behind her convictions, and with her gentle, personable manner. She was clearly a woman of many virtues.
She was also a prolific reader, having read many good non-fiction books. And she was also home-schooled, and had been exposed to some of the same influences as I. So we found a great deal in common and a great deal to discuss. I was interested in her book-importation ministry-having been interested myself in importing good Christian resources into Australia. And she had access to some excellent Christian messages on audio tape which she had license to distribute freely, and which were well worth disseminating widely. At some point during our short visit, Genevieve gave me a copy of a “wanted” poster she had drawn up-somewhat in jest-advertising for a good Godly husband. Unbeknowst to her, I had reasons for not counting her as a “prospect”, despite her many and evident virtues, and unbeknownst to me, she had her own entirely different reasons for not counting me as a “prospect”. I was trying in my manner of communication to be open and friendly but to not imply non-existent “interest”. Genevieve showed me a copy of the poster, as it was relevant to a discussion we were having, and I asked if I could keep a copy-there were a few fine young Christian men in Melbourne whom I thought at the time might find a woman of her virtues worth pursuing.
And so we parted. For my part, I was greatly encouraged to meet a woman of her passionate commitment to Christ, and her conscious, deliberate application of God’s Word. Whilst she wasn’t the woman I was looking for, it encouraged me in my wait for the one of great virtue who would be my own.
Pete & Genevieve
The art of match-making is not usually practiced by young unmarried men, but why, I ask, should old wrinkled European women get all the fun?
Yes, the allegations are true. I suggested to Pete that he find out more about this Genevieve Smith. The distance seemed insurmountable, and the suggestion went nowhere. Months later, I suggested it again. And I think a third time. But understandably, he was hesitant. His only knowledge of this lass was my report of her virtues, and my assessment of their mutual suitability, and he had no simple way of confirming things for himself. In addition, how could he begin to get to know her without risking his preliminary investigations being interpreted as an irreversible commitment? Real risks, no action taken, and many more months passed.
In the providence of God, I traveled to the USA in July 2006 to participate in some fossil digs in Texas, USA. Whilst in the USA, it worked out very neatly for me to spend a week in Virginia attending a Vision Forum conference. It so happened-we didn’t plan it this way- that Genevieve Smith also attended the same conference. It was our second time meeting and we got on well-the only two representatives from our respective countries and the two furthest from home attending the conference.
I felt strongly that she and Pete would make a great match, but how to encourage things in that direction? Further, how could I be sure Genevieve was still ‘unattached’? I plucked up courage, and at risk of having things horribly misinterpreted, I asked Genevieve why it is that she and some other virtuous Christian women we both knew or knew of, were still single into their mid to late 20s, when they are so passionate about marrying and helping their husband and raising a family? I said “Surely any astute young man would be looking for a woman like this-why haven’t they snapped you up by now?”
It was a serious question on my part. How do so many young women with such evident qualities and ready for and desiring marriage, remain unselected for so long? But in addition, I was trying to find out if she was still “available”. And I confess I felt horribly awkward asking the question, but I knew that my motivation was right and that the reason for my question would soon be revealed.
And things moved fairly quickly from there. After my return to Australia, I emailed Genevieve, and acknowledged that what I was doing was highly unusual, and didn’t fit the standard models found in the typical courtship books, but there was a very worthy young man I had commended her to, and what would be the best way for him to learn more about her without being irrevocably committed to marriage thereby? She suggested getting the young man to email her father.
I spoke with Pete, and he was cautiously interested, and willing to begin walking that road. I had raved on Genevieve’s many qualities to Pete, so he already knew something about her, but the Smiths knew nothing of Pete. So to give them the same advantage, I wrote them an email of introduction, raving on Pete’s many qualities. Both Pete and Genevieve are very rave-worthy.
Introductions made, I stepped out of the way, and the rest was up to them. And the rest, as they say, is history.
Closing Remarks
This story is a remarkable story of God’s trustworthiness. I said that there were only three people who knew both Pete and Genevieve before introductions were made. One was, of course, myself. Another was my sister Sophia who was with me in New Zealand when I met the Smiths. The third, of course-and most importantly-is Jehovah Jireh, God Himself. He knew Pete & Genevieve inside and out. He knew His calling on their lives. He knew their strengths and weaknesses, and how best to bless them and equip them for future fruitfulness. He knew, and He designed for them a “match made in Heaven”. And today we share in their joy and celebrate God’s goodness. In hindsight, it’s interesting to note that I met Pete and Genevieve within about six months of each other. Of course, I had no idea at the time that I would later be introducing one to the other, but in the providence of God, He already had it in mind.
God has done great things, and we are glad because of them. This day was made by the Lord. We will rejoice and be glad in it.
Finally, I would like to briefly acknowledge the unusual-and oftentimes humorous-ways in which the Lord works. Pete met Genevieve through my introduction. But I met the Smiths- and hence Genevieve-through David Waldron’s introduction. But how did David know the Smiths? Well, he became good friends with them years ago when Mount Ruapehu started rumbling seriously. Houses were being evacuated, and without going into detail, one family offered emergency accommodation to the other, and they became good friends. Without the volcano, there might never have been that strong Smith-Waldron friendship. Without that friendship, there might never have been the Field-Smith connection. And without the Field-Smith connection, there might never have been the joyful event we’re celebrating today. Thus, in God’s good providence, and perhaps showing God’s sense of humour, we can quite literally say that God used a volcano to bring Pete & Genevieve together.
Blessing
Pete & Genevieve, may your marriage be fruitful. May joy, peace, and hospitality mark your home. May your children rise up and call you blessed, and walk in the ways of the Lord. May His favour and grace be on you and with you in all that you do. May His Word in your mouth touch people and nations. We rejoice with you, we thank God for what He’s done, is doing and will do, in, through and for you, and we stand with you, believe with you, and pray with you for God’s good pleasure to be accomplished in your lives and family, from this day forward.
For the Greater Glory of God through our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ,
Genevieve de Deugd
Issacharian Wife
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