I had just graduated with my undergraduate degree in Social Work, had moved into my first very own apartment, and was preparing to enter into graduate school when my best friend begged me to try online dating for the umpteenth time. Like many of my other friends, she was enjoying meeting new people and getting out, but my response was emphatically, “No.”
Not accepting my answer, my friend negotiated with me, “Just spend two weeks on any website you want, make your profile, and respond to anyone who contacts you.” I reluctantly obliged, but declared that I wouldn’t be paying for anything. I thought, ‘What’s two weeks if I can get her off my back?’ Ha!
I made a profile on Adventist Singles and perused my “matches.” One of the first matches was a professor at my university – creepy! After being thoroughly creeped out, I left my profile alone for a couple days. When I logged back on, “96% match” caught my eye, and the profile picture caught my eye even more! “Hot dang,” I said to myself. His profile was thoroughly filled out and very thoughtful. I was intrigued, but since I refused to pay for the service, my only option was to send a smiley emoji to him. That would’ve been just plain creepy. So, I logged off and soon my two week agreement was up. I disabled my profile.
About a week later, scrolling mindlessly through Facebook, a profile picture caught my eye. “Hot dang,” I said to myself. He looked familiar, but I couldn’t remember where from. Later that night I realized—it’s that guy from Adventist Singles!!! Hurriedly, I logged back onto Facebook, searched the friend I had seen the guy’s post on, and clicked on his profile.
Yup, that was him, James Rowe! Not only did he only live an hour and a half away, we had four mutual friends whom I knew well! I contacted those individuals asking about this guy—who he was, how they knew him, and what he was like. I think I even asked if he was a real person, ha! Not one person had anything negative to share. Turns out, our network of mutual friends ran deep. We even grew up in the same cities!
So, I came to a crossroads, do I message James at the risk of looking stalkerish, or do I just let it go? I figured I had nothing to lose, so I spent an hour or two carefully writing a message that avoided the stalker-vibe. A day later, he responded. His response was just as thorough and thoughtful as his profile (cue heart melt).
When I laid eyes on him, I knew something about him was extra special. Boy was I right! We got married about a year later in the Foothills of the Great Smoky Mountains—a place that will always be extra special! 🙂
To read about our life since then, click here!
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