Second chances led Richard and I to meet on Catholic Match May 30,
2010. Richard had recently returned from a deployment in Iraq, and
gotten his marriage annulled. I had multiple negative experiences with
online dating, and knew in my heart that I needed to be in a
relationship with a Catholic man, so I came back to Catholic Match.
I'll admit, patience isn't one of my virtues, and my first experience
with CM was negative and caused me to give up. This time I told God
however long it took, wherever God placed him, I was ready to wait for
His timing to bring me the man I needed and wanted.
Ironically, it
was only a week after I began my membership that Richard sent me an
'emotigram.' God must've felt sorry for my little impatient heart.
Talking
to Richard was different from anyone I'd ever talked to online. He was
funny and his personality and humor were identical to mine, which
surprised me. I'm definitely quirky (and picky!) We'd bring up the same
random topics at the same time and send emails at the same time without
knowing what the other one had written. It seemed we were online within
minutes of each other, which was special in itself because we both have
extremely fluctuating schedules. We also were very honest and blunt
with each other about our relationship needs, wants and concerns. One
of MY big ones was deployment and what dating a man whose career was
the military would mean for me. Richard was honest about the positives
and the negatives, and I felt completely at ease (no pun intended)
about talking on the phone with him.
After emailing and chatting
for three days, we decided to talk on the phone, and our first call lasted
until almost 3AM! Poor Richard had to be up at 4:00AM for PT and was
late his first day back to base! He must not have minded too much
though, because throughout the day we'd text message each other and
talk every night for hours. Luckily we both had unlimited calling and
texting plans! :) We made a plan to meet Sunday, June 6 (the day the
Lord has made!) at a halfway point between our towns (we live about 4
hours apart.) Unfortunately, the little town of Corsicana also decided
they needed a day of rest, and our first 'date' consisted of lunch at
the Cotton Patch, people watching at Wal-Mart, and aimlessly driving
around town until we found a park, where we decided 96 degrees was too
hot to sit outside and talk, so we sat in the car with the AC blowing
and talked for three hours. It sounds crazy, but that was the MOST fun I'd
had on a date, ever! We did not kiss that day, too many nerves,
but later on we both found out the other knew that day that we were
meant to be together.
Two weeks later I took a long weekend,
brought work with me (I love my job!) and road-tripped to Ft. Hood for
Richard's Military Ball and a long weekend getting to know him. Again
things didn't go as planned, but we had a wonderful weekend. Richard
hid a special surprise in my car before I left, and I wrote him little
notes and hid them in his house. We laughed and joked and enjoyed every
minute together, including sharing our first (of many!) kisses. That
weekend, we knew we wanted to be together. Since that day, we have
talked every day, sometimes more than once....ok ok, sometimes more
than 5 times! The texts fly fast and furious, and we are planning to
see each other (hopefully) every two weeks. Richard is respectful and
caring, funny, honest and open. He treats me with love and I feel God's
love through him. We talk openly about the future, and what it may hold
good and bad. Talking about God and our common faith is another thing
we enjoy and are building our relationship on! Keep checking for more
updates!
Advice for CM Users: Be patient! Pray for God to lead you
to the one HE knows you need. Richard was everything I have ever wanted
and more. He truly is my soulmate. Also, have pictures and a profile
that accurately reflects your personality! Both of us had friends make
sure our profiles were reflective of who we really are. Be honest with
yourself - can you really handle a LDR? What about someone with a job
that is dangerous or time-consuming? By being honest with yourself, you
allow God to work in your life.
