How I Met My Bride or Choosing Joy

What would life be if we had no courage to attempt anything?

Online dating is a world of wonder. New terms have come from this world such as ghosted, bread crumbed, benched, haunted, and show goggled. And yes, all of these have happened to me. But if they hadn’t, I would never have met April.

It is amazing that I found someone so wonderful, considering she could have acted out any of those negative dating terms listed above. During my own dating journey I decided no matter what I would choose joy and be open to all that God has for me. So even though I was frustrated with being single and feeling at times like I was not worth noticing, I decided to trust that God had someone for me.

April popped into my life unexpectedly in February of 2016. I was a mess. In September of 2015 I nearly died of pneumonia and just six months later I was still reeling. So when she sent me a simple message I didn’t know what I was doing. But I did know I wanted to choose joy and trust God. So I messaged her back and little did I know how much that little decision would change my life. Van Gogh said, “Great things are done by a series of small things brought together.”

Her sweet little message asking about my trip to Harry Potter World started a great thing. April is the most genuine woman I know and that beautiful characteristic bled through her first message. I didn’t want to bread crumb her (a term here meaning string her along with tidbits of information about myself, but no real desire of actual an actual date) so when she asked me for my phone number I gave it to her without hesitation. Then with the kind of courage reserved for the most genuine or crazy man ever, I asked her out after just a week of messaging back and forth.

February is a crazy time to go on a first date. My birthday is February 17th and I was hesitant to ask April out because I didn’t want to make her think I just wanted her to give me a birthday gift. But then I knew if I waited until after my birthday she might decide to ghost on me.

February is also crazy because it is host to Valentine’s Day. When I decided to be courageous and stop worrying about going on a date super close to my birthday, it was the 14th of February. I sent April a simple text asking her if she wanted to meet and go see a movie. I explained that I knew it was Valentine’s Day, but that I thought it would be fun and we could make it super casual. She replied back shortly after with a yes!

That evening, after watching The Walking Dead I told my parents I was going to meet a friend for a movie which was code for I am going on a date and I don’t want to tell you that I am doing so. We met at the AMC near my house which turns out is quite a drive for her.

The movie was Pride and Prejudice and Zombies and I should have known then that she wasn’t just after my brains, but she was after my heart as well.

I am so glad that I chose to find joy in all things and did not shy away from a date on Valentine’s Day. But the most courageous act I committed was hugging her after the movie. The hug lasted a little longer than we expected and so did the kiss.