How did you meet? What was your first date like? Give us all the details!
It was 2014, the summer before my senior year of college. I was very lonely that summer. I went to a school away from home and lived on campus there, so coming home for the summer was often very lonely as most of my friends lived all over the state and I hadn’t kept in contact with a lot of my friends from high school (or they were spending the summer at their college campuses).

One day, after a lot of crying, a commercial for ChristianMingle came on the TV and my dad suggested I try it. My first thought was no. I was so concerned with the stigma of online dating. I was worried that people would think I was weird or judge me for having to go online to meet someone. But I figured that, if anything, I can meet some Christian friends in my area to keep me some company over the summer. I definitely didn’t have any expectations of meeting my future husband, but I was willing to try it and see what would happen.

I joined ChristianMingle, and I browsed the profiles of so many guys in my area. Some of them stuck out to me, and I even met up with a couple in person, but I didn’t click with them. Then I saw Mitch’s profile, and I sent him a smile. I was attracted to his profile because he had put that he was outgoing, loved the Lord and passionate about ministry, which were the top three things I wanted in a guy. Mitch and I talked online for about a month before we met in person. He was very easy to talk to, we had a lot in common and I always looked forward to the Skype dates we had planned each night.

We first met in person on July 2, 2014. I drove out to his church an hour away from my house. Come to find out, he had a whole day planned out for me. I got to his church, and he first won me over by having a Starbucks caramel macchiato in hand for me. Then, we rode bikes together on the bike trail near his church and just talked about our lives. He talked about his passion for ministry, and I told him about my passion for nursing, and we just connected right away. We rode our bikes to Dairy Queen and enjoyed some ice cream together. We drove around town and just enjoyed each other’s company. He had church service that night (it was a Wednesday, and he is the pastor) so I sat in on the service. We had planned to go to the beach to watch fireworks (it was near the 4th of July), but the parking lot was full and we had gotten out of church too late to catch the bus. Instead, we went to Starbucks and enjoyed some frappuccinos. We laughed a lot, and I just knew we had an awesome connection unlike any connection I ever had with a guy before.

I was in nursing school at the time, so I wasn’t sure if I wanted to pursue a relationship during such a busy time. He continued to text and Facebook me, and we were friends for a few months. In October, all of a sudden, I got this urge to talk to him again (after we hadn’t talked in a few weeks). I messaged him, we talked and out of nowhere, I felt the urge to pursue a relationship with him. It was the worst timing; it was midterm week of my first semester of senior year nursing school. I had six exams and a huge project that week, but all I could think about was Mitch. And it came out of nowhere. I told God, “I don’t have time for this right now! If this isn’t the man you have set aside for me, please get him off my mind. If this is the man you have for me, make it clear.” Well, over the next week, it was clear. Not only did God not get him off my mind, but I thought about him MORE that week. Mitch came and visited me at school as I was living on campus an hour away from him. I was telling him about my clinical rotations and how I had discovered my passion for oncology nursing, and just like our first date, talking to him felt so natural. That was when it became clear to me to pursue this relationship, and shortly after that was when we officially started dating.

Describe the moment you knew it was true love!
I had always known I liked Mitch. He had everything I was looking for in a man, and I knew that even before we met in person. Our first date was amazing and I knew there was chemistry between us from day one. When we decided to pursue the relationship, there was a day when we spontaneously drove out to a beach town I love. It was November in Michigan so it was freezing, but it was so amazing. We walked out onto the pier and just watched the waves in Lake Michigan. It felt right to be there with him. He told me, “I can’t wait to have many more moments like this with you.”

Later that month, since both of us love musicals, he took me to see “Annie” in Chicago. We both loved the show and loved seeing it together. That night was the first night I knew I could see myself with him long-term. I tell him that was the night I fell in love with him. I remember thinking that night, “Life with him will be so great and exciting.” Almost two years later and after five months of marriage, I can say that statement is true, and every day I find more reasons why he exceeds any expectations I ever had for my future husband.

Later in our relationship, I had discovered that during a lonely time in college that led me to pray for my future husband before I knew who he was, it was the same time that Mitch was struggling with things in the church. It was his first year being a pastor and he was dealing with a rough transition into the ministry. He was covered in my prayers without us knowing, but God knew! When I found that out, it confirmed that God truly brought us together. I’m writing all of this to encourage people who are thinking about joining ChristianMingle that it can work, and so much happiness has come to me because of it. I’m also writing to show my gratitude for the ChristianMingle administrators and staff for everything you do to keep this site running. Without you, I wouldn’t have met my husband. God allowed Mitch and I to meet and all the glory goes to Him, but He used you and your website to provide a way for me to meet the man God had for me. Thank you!

What advice would you give other ChristianMingle members?
Don’t get discouraged if the first few dates don’t work out or you don’t meet someone right away.

Did you find love online? Submit your story to share how you met your soulmate on ChristianMingle.