On May 16th, 2010, I was feeling a little down, and pimply, and fat, :-) but it was Sunday, and there was a great fireside for Mid Single Adults happening at a local church building with Chris Heimerdinger- the author of the popular LDS book series Tennis Shoes Among the Nephites. I thought this would be fun to go to. As was my style, I arrived a few minutes late and sat in the back of the chapel. Little did I know that I sat behind my future companion......
After the fireside, I jumped into a conversation with the two guys in front of me, who both ended up being named David. This was awesome for me because my daughter had recently had a dream that I would marry a man named David. I thought to myself, "Wow, what are the chances of finding TWO single Davids to talk too?" We instantly became friends, and headed into the cultural hall to eat ice cream with the others. We ended up having another female join with us to talk (Jen) and had a lively conversation for the next 45 minutes. We were probably the youngest people to attended that fireside, and this is probably why we gravitated towards each other.
As we were talking together, I listened to each of the Davids, and both were charming, but during the conversation, my future David took off his glasses while talking with me, I could tell he was interested in me, which was exciting. He had darker features that the other David, which I also loved. His nature was compassionate too because I was worried about a pimple on my cheek, and he made sure to tell me about a mole on his cheek that he lived with for years that he had removed. It helped me be at ease with my lack of beauty that night. Sometimes little things can give you big insights into a person's character.
After we were all through eating our ice cream and the building was emptying out, we headed to the foyer. There Chris Heimerdinger and his wife were conversing with a couple other people. Since I'm not very shy in my later years, I struck up a conversation as well with him. Then I suggested we get a picture of our little group talking with him. By then, the other David had walked away for a minute, and my David decided he would take the picture with Jen and I. So, I have a picture of the night David and I met, with him behind the camera. How lucky is that?
L-R: Me, Chris Heimerdinger, his wife, and Jen
The four of us had written down our names so that we could find each other on Facebook. This was our only link to see each other again. When I got home that night, I quickly got on FB and found my David and added him. He was on and quickly accepted. I also added the other David and Jen as friends as well. We then started chatting on FB and got one another's phone numbers. Let's just say we talked into the wee hours of the morning. I could tell him anything, and he had something compassionate and caring to reply with. This thoughtful, yet non-judging attitude won me over. I was hooked. He also told me many things, and I guess he enjoyed my conversation as well :)
Later on, I found out David had been thinking of not going to the fireside that night, just like I had. I have since figured out that Satan tries to keep us from good things, or really great learning experiences by making us not want to go. I was bombarded by feelings of self-hate but chose to ignore them. Every good thing that has happened in my life as of yet, hinged on that moment of ignoring the self-hate. David had to face it that night too, and now look at where we are!
Call me crazy- because I am- but David and I decided that our next meeting would be right after dropping our kids off at school (they were across the street from each other) and we would go to his water aerobics class at the local pool. This was really dare-devilish for me because I have always had issues with my ultra-white skin and now my weight. But I knew that many of the women in the class were elderly, and wouldn't judge me. I knew that if David could accept my body with all it's flaws, then I could more completely enjoy his company. This worked like a charm. We had a wonderful time and saw a lady that knew me several years ago when I was going through a rocky marriage and had known David for at least a year. She was so happy for David to have found me to be friends with, and she even backed up my stories of how my life was like before. She was the right person in the right place with a perfect understanding.
After our wonderful time at the pool, I decided to give David a kiss when we were at the car. He had earned it for being so sweet with me. I cried afterwards because I had never felt so unconditionally loved and I had been through so much to get that feeling. Those were tears of sorrow, and happiness. Our mutual friend being at the pool- who had been a mentor to me previously- was not a coincidence. There are no coincidences..... Things like this happened throughout our courtship, like we were being guided and helped along by others seen and unseen. My next post will be about our courtship.....Remember to live life fully, face your fears, and move forward.
