Our story is quite a whirlwind! I met Donnie on ChristianMingle on April 13, 2012 through an IM. Instantly, we had the kind of connection that I had not found with anyone else. I gave Donnie my phone number and we texted each other the rest of the night and decided to meet up at the beach the next day for a picnic. Unfortunately, the night before our date, Donnie’s brother fell ill and went into the ICU. Donnie felt he should stay with his Mom and brother so texted me to cancel our date. Of course I totally understood and told him I would be praying for his brother.

The next day, I texted Donnie to find out how his brother was and Donnie was blown away by my concern. He asked if we could still meet briefly between ICU visitations. I agreed and we met face to face on the beach in front of the Biloxi lighthouse. Instantly, I was comfortable talking to him. We talked about everything and there was such a strong connection!

It seemed I wasn’t even out of the parking lot and he texted to tell me how beautiful I was and how he enjoyed our conversation and looked forward to a proper date. The next time we met, we went to a restaurant and then decided to go sit on the beach and talk. That morning I had prayed and asked God to take over, to guard my heart, and give me discernment because I was having such strong feelings for a man who I had just met! During my prayer, I felt God telling me that I needed to trust Him throughout this process. Right then, I knew I was going to go on a date and enjoy a dinner with this great man and just take it from there. During our beach conversation, Donnie told me that he would like to date me so that we could see where this could go and that although we could take all the time we needed, he was very committed to figuring this out.

We quickly began talking about the distance between us. I was living in Gulfport, and he was in Mobile. He mentioned that in a conversation with God, he felt that God said that he was not to move me away from Gulfport, because God had planted me there and that Donnie was to join me in what I was doing. That solved the distance issue and on May 18th, 2012 we were married!

Donnie has two wonderful daughters, ages 23 and 16. His family is great and he has blended well into my family also. My grown children have come to love him quickly. My grandchildren call him “PopPop” already and he calls them “our” grandchildren when he is telling other people about them, which is often!

God is so good to have given me this amazing man! He has made a way every step of the way and continues to do so. It has only been a short 7 months, but I feel as though I have only ever known him as my husband and best friend. We have no need to argue; we talk about everything, and hide nothing from one another. Although our lives are not completely trouble free, we have each other and we are so thankful!

Thank you, ChristianMingle, for your service. If it were not for you, we would never have met. God used your online dating site to bring us together!