One of the things that has most impressed me about Aaron and Kristin during their fourteen years of marriage is the quality of their friendships. I have often seen married couples struggle to make friends after they move to a new city or start a new job, and others find themselves so busy with work that they scarcely find enough time for one another, much less for friends. But even before they got married, Aaron and Kristin had the remarkable gift of drawing outsiders into their circle of friends, and they never seemed to struggle to make each one feel as though she were the center of their world. As Aaron’s youngest brother, I have often found myself with these friends whenever I see Aaron and Kristin, and I am so grateful that I have been befriended by these companions of my brother and sister-in-law. I love Aaron and Kristin immensely, of course, but I must admit that I have at times even found myself almost as excited to see their friends as I was to see them!
These friendships were no accident, of course. They took real work, and I’ve often thought that Aaron must have learned this from Kristin during the years they were first dating. He and I were frequent rivals when we were growing up, and our family had a competitive streak that was at times more obvious than the very real and unwavering love that never fully hid beneath the surface. In fact, Aaron and I are good friends now precisely because we worked through so much conflict when we were boys. By overcoming that, we now recognize just how much the love between brothers is ultimately able to overcome conflict and differences of opinion. Our friendship as brothers is now rooted more in our shared Christian faith, all the time we have spent together over the years, and our commitment to persevering in our vocations than it is the fact that we share a common upbringing.
I believe that friendships are always strongest when they are rooted in shared values and a love that does not fail in the face of conflict or adversity. Aaron and Kristin have precisely these sorts of friends, and the joy of sharing their lives with such people is one of the sweetest and most beautiful things that I can imagine. However, even these friendships can never fully satisfy the deepest longings in the hearts of a married couple. As blessed as they are to share their lives with many concentric circles of friends and family, Kristin and Aaron have always longed for children of their own. In the end, only children can provide this greatest blessing to a married couple: to make of them a mother and a father. I can think of no more worthy husband and wife to become parents, and I could not be more excited to see how their family will be enriched by all the loving friends (and the innumerable children of friends!) who will constantly stream into and out of their home. Surely this is a beautiful and worthy place for any child to call his or her own, and I can’t wait to be not only a friend to their new arrival but an uncle as well.
Please join me in supporting their journey to expanding the family. https://www.gofundme.com/f/help-aaron-and-kristin-adopt
-Fr. Michael Wegenka, SJ
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