A Match Made in Heaven

 

“With God all things are possible.”

—Matthew 19:26 

On this date three years ago I received an email that would change my life.

I had received the email notification from Match.com, a dating site I had previously subscribed to. After too many years of not meeting “the one,” I canceled my subscription, but apparently I failed to hide my profile.

Out of curiosity, I read the email – only three sentences long.

But those three sentences revealed a lot about the writer, Robert. He was intelligent, he paid attention to details, and he had obviously read my profile, instead of just looking at my pictures. He acknowledged our similarities and one difference, our football teams. He was a fan of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers; I rooted for Washington. He ended his message with a question, “What new name would you choose for your team?”  

I was intrigued and wanted to answer, but I wasn’t a paid subscriber. Would I have to sign up to reply? I didn’t know, but decided to give it a try. I typed my email and hit send. It went through! How did that happen?

Soon we were emailing back and forth every day, and I never had to pay a cent. Each new email brought a smile to my face and new insight about this man who kept my curiosity up. I learned we both attended Assembly of God churches. Both of us had taught children’s Sunday school, and both of us were currently greeters at our church. Faith-wise, it seemed we were on the same page, and that was very important to me.

I was also drawn to Robert’s sense of humor and enjoyed our playful banter. His emails were the highlight of my day—until he offered me his phone number and we started chatting regularly. Immediately, I was attracted to his voice, his tone, but also what he said and how he said it, his mannerisms and consideration. We communicated well. I wondered if Robert might be “the one,” yet we had never met in person.

At the time, the world was in the throes of the COVID pandemic. The vaccine had recently been approved, and as a teacher, I had received it prior to our first correspondence. However, I was currently caring for my octogenarian parents, who had not yet been vaccinated. Out of consideration for them, Robert decided we should delay meeting until all of us had been vaccinated. In the meantime, we continued our daily phone calls, the new highlight of my days.

Six weeks after Robert’s initial email, we met. While I had heard of “love at first sight,” I didn’t know that it was possible. But I do know a God who makes all things possible. For years, I had prayed for my forever love, for my match. I searched for him on dating sites. And at last, I found him – or rather, he found me. But I can’t give credit to the dating site. Match.com was just the conduit. God was the matchmaker.

Robert and I now have been married 18 months, and I am so thankful. He is definitely my perfect match. We are so similar. But there is still one difference. He roots for Tampa Bay, and I root for Washington, who finally decided on their new name. And it’s okay, I guess—I just like mine better, Spears.

Dear God, You know me better than I know myself (Psalm 139:1 – 4), and You work all things together for my best interest (Romans 8:28). Thank You for choosing my mate, for making the impossible, possible (Matthew 19:26). I’m glad I’m on Your team. Amen.