Although I was a few years beyond her preferred age range, and lived a few miles further than her preferred driving preference, that fact that we were both widowers and in the same stage of life, I skipped the winks, smiles, etc. and sent her an initial message…. just to see if there might be any interest. She responded favorably, ending her short response back to me with, “I think we should get to know each other better… interested?” One message led to another, phone numbers were exchanged, a level of trust was established, and after approximately two weeks of continued texts and daily phone calls, I drove to her hometown (March 2013) to see if we had any “chemistry” in person. Per her stated, “What I’d like to do on a first date” (CM Essay), we met at Starbucks, chatting all afternoon and into the evening. Within a couple of days of that initial meeting, we both wanted to try a long-distance dating relationship, and for the next twelve months, through wind, rain, ice and snow, we made the two hour drive, back-and-forth between our homes, building our relationship.

After a little more than a year of dating, I surprised her with a marriage proposal on March 22, 2014. Both believing that GOD would honor our decision, we made arrangements to get married, and did so on July 24, 2014 in Great Exuma, Bahamas. GOD has continued to affirm our marital relationship in every way. We both feel incredibly blessed to have “found” each other through ChristianMingle, but in reality, it was only a surprise to us… GOD already knew the plan. And oh yes, I chose to relocate to Arkansas from Missouri, and feel right at home in north-west Arkansas!

As for our ChristianMingle experience, what made it most successful for my wife (besides finding a husband lol), was the fact that it had a “Christian connotation,” so it “felt safer” to her to share her information and seek someone of like values. She was not a part of any other online dating site. For me, it was the fact that it provided the opportunity to meet someone of like faith and values with whom I would have never come into contact. I scoured the site for photos/bios of those, whom I might like to meet, but most importantly, prayer for direction and discernment allowed GOD to bring the right girl for me into my life, and I into hers.