TL;DR – Heather’s mom Lisa and Cheryl, who is like a second mom to Michael, introduced us. Heather’s Perspective: Last June, I got a text from my mom saying I had to come down to the golf club. Apparently, there was a woman there who “had someone in mind for me.” Since I was already dressed from church—and had washed my hair—I figured, why not? Not long into the conversation, Cheryl mentioned I needed to meet a guy named Michael. Naturally, I asked the important questions first, like, “Is he a Christian? A real one?” Cheryl said yes, gave me the highlights, and said he’d be visiting from Atascadero in August with his son. I agreed to meet him. Michael’s Perspective: On August 2nd, I arrived at Cheryl’s house in Vista and she greeted me with, “You have to meet Heather. She’s amazing, and she’s single.” I was hesitant. I hadn’t been dating and wasn’t into texting unknown women. But then I checked out Heather’s LinkedIn, noticed she mentioned her church, and heard she’d asked if I was a Christian. That caught my attention. I wondered what her definition of a Christian was. So, I took a chance, texted her, and asked if she was free to meet. Heather’s Perspective (cont): That Friday, I got a text from an unknown 805 number—it was Michael. He said texting women he didn’t know wasn’t his thing, but he was curious if I had time to get together. I told him I had a training hike Saturday morning but was free that evening. We set a time for 7 p.m. Michael’s Perspective (cont): We met in the parking lot of Ciao. It was one of those hot August nights, and I hadn’t packed for a date—I was sweating like crazy. Right off the bat, I told her I was still married—on paper. I’d been separated for a year and a half, but the divorce wasn’t finalized. I also said I wasn’t looking to date anyone, which came off as disinterest. That wasn’t true (and I cleared it up later!). We started with small talk but quickly dove into deep conversations about theology and faith. Heather started quoting scripture left and right, I was impressed. Heather’s Perspective (cont): I almost ran into him as he came around the corner—his height caught my attention first, then his smile. Poor guy was clearly overheated. Within five minutes, he told me he was still married, on paper. I was surprised—I thought he was already divorced or I wouldn’t have agreed to meet. He then he asked about my church and my walk with God. I thought, “Wow, someone who actually wants to know where my faith stands.” We talked for over an hour before he had to head back. He said he wasn’t looking for a relationship but wanted to stay in touch. I took that at face value and didn’t expect to hear from him again. But over the next few weeks, we exchanged a lot of texts and had a few phone calls—all about theology and sermons. He was hungry for truth and had never heard expository preaching before. Still, we both knew it was complicated. By the end of August, we talked about how neither of us wanted to be just friends or pen pals. We agreed to pause communication until his divorce was finalized—set for October 3rd. Together: October 3rd came... and the divorce didn’t. There was a filing delay, so we talked on the phone one last time and said our goodbyes, again, until the new court date, November 8th. Finally, on November 8th, Michael was officially single. He came down for Thanksgiving with Cheryl and we agreed to meet up. Throughout the month, we kept things light, getting to know each other better. The Saturday after Thanksgiving, we spent the afternoon in Temecula browsing antiques and walking through the farmer’s market. The next day, we went to church, grabbed smoothies, and walked down to the beach for a long, honest conversation. We both shared our desire to date with purpose and keep Christ at the center. That weekend marked the start of our courtship—and a long-distance adventure. It didn’t take long, though. We quickly fell in love and the rest is history!