I was searching through ChristianMingle one day and came across Melinda’s profile. Although I was instantly drawn to her photos, after reading her introduction, my excitement about her grew even more. I viewed her profile a few times but held back on any communication because I lived in South Dakota and Melinda lived in North Carolina. I was saddened by the distance between us and was certain nothing would ever become of this. Then I started to notice that Melinda was viewing my profile, too. Becoming more curious, I wanted to know more about her so I sent her a ‘smile’ through the messaging process…and that’s how it all started.

After receiving the ‘smile’ from me, Melinda thought it would be nice to send me an e-mail. She wrote a few sweet words, and I instantly returned the message with a nice response. The communication then went on for a few days, and we eventually added each other on Facebook. One day as Melinda was sitting in the library studying for an exam, I messaged her to give an open invitation to call whenever she needed a quick break. So I gave her my number. About an hour later, we began chatting which lasted until the late hours of the night. We realized through this first conversation how ridiculously similar we were and all that we had in common!

The phone chats progressed as time went on, and eventually led into video chats. One evening as we were exchanging stories, the question popped up: “So, when are we going to meet each other?” I took Melinda’s question somewhat as a joke, because I still doubted the distance, and said I could visit Melinda during Spring Break. Melinda wasn’t too thrilled with my answer because it was only Thanksgiving at the time, and she didn’t want to wait that long to finally meet me face to face. Her response back to me was to offer Christmas or New Year’s. I sat on the other end of the line in awe and couldn’t believe that Melinda was being serious.

So, we planned a visit for New Years and a week after that conversation, I booked a flight to visit Melinda in North Carolina. Then the waiting game began. Between the time we made the decision to meet and the time we actually met, our conversations evolved into something beautiful. Though we both shared many stories, and had numerous similarities, the main focus point in our conversations was centered on our faith and love for Christ.

Finally, it was the day for our meeting! I arrived at the airport in North Carolina. As Melinda was walking through the main doors, she looked around the corner and that’s when we saw one another for the first time. From that day on, our love for each other grew profoundly, and continued into an official relationship. We are now engaged and are looking forward to our future together!