Lent was approaching and I couldn't figure out what I wanted to give up. So after some thought I decided that I was going give up my search for a guy. On Ash Wednesday I took my photo off and went inactive. I had serious doubts that God even wanted me on this website. In addition to giving up my search I decided that I was going to pray to see if I should keep myself on this site or delete my profile once and for all. It was Friday after Ash Wednesday that I decided I was going to put my picture back up and reactivate myself but I still wanted to lay low and no longer search profiles. I figured if someone was interested they'd contact me.
I delved into the forums. Saturday I received a smile from this cute guy who lived in Georgia. I was at the point where I was done with the whole Internet thing so I figured I had nothing to lose by responding to his smile. I sent him a smile and included a message with it. Sunday Feb. 21st I was logged on and out of the blue I got a chat invite from the same guy that sent me a smile. With a, "what have I got to lose?" attitude, I accepted his invite to chat.
He was a member for three days before coming across my profile and purchased a membership so that he could chat with me. According to him, he didn't think that I was going to respond to his smile. I remember thinking he seemed very eager. I had chatted with guys that at first seemed enthusiastic but then their interest would wane. We chatted for a few hours, mostly because the chat feature was acting up. He asked for my phone number because he knew he wouldn't be able to chat with me since he was going to be out in the field for a week (he's in the Army). I gave him my phone number not at all expecting to hear from him. As soon as we got off of the computer he sent me a text message saying good night, I must say that I was impressed.
Monday we spent all day texting each other eventually chatting online when I got home from work. It was obvious at that moment that I really liked this guy but there was no way that things could work out because he lived far away and was in the Army. I resigned myself to the that fact nothing was going to come of us. The worst part was that I really liked this guy. We were talking for about a week when I seriously considered leaving this guy alone. I was afraid to get close to someone far away because I didn't want it to end up in disappointment. After talking to some trusted friends I realized that my motivation to leave him alone was rooted in fear. (I ended up finding out later on that he was waiting for me to tell him goodbye) At that point I decided I was going to pray and let the Lord work everything out since I didn't see how on earth things were going to work out between us.
We finally talked on the phone two weeks after meeting online and our conversation went wonderfully. Shortly after that he told me that he put in for a pass to come to Cali. I was nervous and excited all at the same time. To our surprise he was granted his leave. He purchased his ticket and was scheduled to fly in late in the evening on March 18, the day before St. Joseph's feast day. As Divine Providence would have it, we both individually began a novena to St. Joseph for the same intention. He began one not knowing that St. Joseph's feast day was approaching. Well, St. Joseph came through. I was a nervous wreck at the airport. I was so scared that after everything was said and done we wouldn't get along. The moment I saw him I knew we'd get along just fine. We hugged and everything clicked! We were holding hands from the get go it felt as if I knew him for years. There was no akwardness there, everything felt natural. Even he made the comment how easy and comfortable everything felt.
I could go on and on about things, but our weekend together was absolutely wonderful. I knew after spending a day with him (St. Joseph's Feast Day) that I met my match. When I dropped him off at the airport, a month from our first chat, I knew that we'd be seeing each other again. Two weeks later he suprised me by coming back to California to spend Easter with me and my family. I couldn't have asked for a better Easter. Our relationship really grew the weekend he was here. We've got a long road a head of us, but so far our future looks bright. He's in California doing training for his upcoming deployment. In June, I'll be visiting his family then in July he gets deployed for a year. Time will tell how things will go, but so far the plan is for us to see each other as much as we can. Once he's done with his active duty he plans on moving to Cali in order to be with me. He told me he wants to marry me but is waiting for right time to ask me...so we shall see :) No matter how things end up I know that I met a wonderful person and I have Catholic Match to thank for that.
