Eventually, the storm passes. Nine months after Mari Kuhlman's (23) husband, Nate Kuhlman, tragically died while water skiing during their honeymoon just three days after they got married, Mari posted the birth of their child on social media. The child, Raphael Patrick Kuhlman, is described as a "miracle" by her catholic mother.
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"Nate, our son is here! I cannot believe it, thank you for carrying me through one of the hardest days of my life! but the reward of holding our son in my arms was obviously so worth it!" Said Mari in her Facebook post. She added: "I know you'll be praying for him, for us each and every day, and he will know without a doubt how much his father loves him!"
Mari and Nate originally met while attending Franciscan University in Steubenville, Ohio, back in October 2021. After dating for a year, they married at St. Mary Our Lady of Grace in St. Petersburg, Florida, in front of 140 guests.
Later, they traveled to St. Lucia, an island in the Caribbean, their honeymoon destination. It was during their first morning in St. Lucia that Nate decided to go water skiing. Unfortunately, Nate fell and drowned that morning, and was declared dead after being unconscious for 30 minutes and after receiving CPR.
"I don't think I could handle being mad at God. My whole relationship with Nate was about getting each other into heaven. Now he was there. I was confused," said Mari. She continued: "Are you kidding me, Nate? He was always so competitive. You seriously had to get to heaven before me?"
Baby Incoming
After Nate's funeral, Mari Kuhlman noticed that she had missed her period, but didn't pay much attention to it. She thought her grief had played a part in it. However, after taking a pregnancy test, she discovered she was, in fact, pregnant with Nate's baby. She announced it on January 14, Nate's birthday.
"Clearly, God had a plan bigger than anything we could have ever imagined. He answered our prayers, and prayers of those around the world, just in a different way than we had expected, but still the GIFT OF LIFE," said Mari.
Raphael Patrick Kuhlman was born on July 18, 2024, and users all around the world were moved by Mari's touching story. "Congratulations!!!! What a perfect miracle!!! May God bless all of you more abundantly than you could ever imagine!!!!" said one user in response to Mari's post. Another user said: "Congratulations Kuhlman family. He is a beautiful miracle!!"
