Timothy and Abigail are not your average newlyweds. Though they were college sweethearts and have a heartwarming love story (told in full on their website), there is a unique quality to their relationship.
Sure, the two 24-year-olds from Calgary both feature photos from their wedding day as the profile photos on their social media. But, in a world where many couples aspire to buy a house and nice car, go on extravagant dates and enjoy vacations, the MacDonalds have chosen to spend their time and money differently.
“Going into our marriage, we talked about pursuing simplicity … and focusing our money on what matters most,” Abigail says.
For them, a big part of that means sponsoring four Compassion children. Their ability to do that doesn’t come from huge six-figure salaries (both work fairly “normal” office jobs), but rather from small, everyday spending and lifestyle choices. “Yes, we can go out and upgrade our car. We could upgrade our TV,” Timothy says, “we could do all those things and it’d be great, but [with Compassion], the money is going towards something that could change someone’s life — forever.”
This translates into how the couple spends their time, too. They met in broadcasting school, and found that serving together on the video production team at their church enables them to combine their love of creating audio and video content with serving God. Now, they use their broadcasting skills on their YouTube channel — not to promote themselves, but to share about their faith and involvement with Compassion. Most recently, they became Compassion volunteers and are planning a trip to the Philippines, Abigail’s birthplace, to visit some Compassion centres and share what they see and learn on YouTube.
“We believe that everyone has a story to tell and we want to share that through the art that we love.”
Their inspiration stems from Isaiah 43:21: “The people I have shaped for myself will broadcast my praises” (emphasis added, NJB). This verse confirmed to Abigail that she was in the right college program at a critical point of questioning for her. And when Timothy and Abigail started dating, it served as a common vision on which to build their relationship.
“We believe that everyone has a story to tell and we want to share that through the art that we love,” they said in an email. Above all, their ultimate goal is to tell the greatest story of Jesus’ unconditional love.
At the end of the day, for Timothy and Abigail, it all comes down to this: “If we miss bringing the kingdom to earth, as it is in heaven, then we’re missing the point of why Jesus came.”
Married, single, dating, or engaged—that is something we can all learn from.
Find Timothy and Abigail online:
Facebook & Instagram: @TimothyandAbigail
Youtube: Timothy Abigail
Website: www.timothyandabigail.com
