We give credit where credit is due… Jesus did the match making… Not Match.com. But they helped! Apparently the Holy Spirit DOES use Match to do her work! We were both looking for our forever love. A spiritual companion for this life-journey was a must. Mary was looking for a younger man in her Match search… but Tom was not going to let youth and lack of experience have her miss the greatest opportunity of her life. Tom was drawn to Mary’s profile because… well… for starters… she is beautiful! Articulate and direct, Mary’s clarity about herself and what she was looking for resonated for Tom who had the same desires. Tom did not know Mary’s path in life, but her words described someone with wisdom and keen sense of self; and that nothing short of complete commitment would do. So Tom sent a heart - but it sent before he could write a message - that he really wanted to write! Oh no! This was not going to go well with a woman like this! And so the story began. When Tom’s “heart” appeared in Mary’s Match Inbox she was skeptical, and indeed wondered about the lack of message - ‘who does that if they are really interested?!’ But being over an over 60 yr old, female, bishop, Mary thought, “what the hell?” Then there was the 8 year age difference. But the profile caught her attention quickly. There she read about a man who appeared intelligent, spiritually grounded, handsome, and funny; and, who clearly had led a meaningful life. If it wasn’t AI generated - we were in luck! The line that got Mary to respond to Tom’s profile though, was, “I love the outdoors, I spend as much time there as possible. I would live outdoors except that I love my bamboo sheets and morning espresso too much to make that move.” After a good laugh, and reading about some of Tom’s adventures in his profile, Mary thought, “I think this guy could handle me…” and then she wrote him about riding a camel on a freezing cold Sahara desert morning to watch the sunrise (only after she slept in a comfie, glampy bed with a hot water bottle). Tom figured Mary had game and that they might be able to find new adventures together. Side-note: after a couple of dates, Mary shared with Tom that she had been very explicit in prayer… asking Jesus for an Episcopalian (with only 2 million of us that is like a needle in haystack!), someone with emotional and spiritual intelligence and who had some understanding of the bond that can occur between a human and a horse. And in the realm of ‘it never hurts to ask’…. “and how about he drives a Porsche.…” Tom’s prayer list was a little more pragmatic - no smoking, likes travel, cooks, and fold socks. It was clear after a couple of dates that things could get serious. Tom and Mary found one another to be thoughtful, loving, sweet, emotionally generous, graceful, and passionate about Christ. Potentially, life together could include a common love, values, vision and spiritual life. We both wanted to go deeper and see where this adventure was leading. One day, we were driving back from a beautiful weekend with family at the International Storytelling festival in Jonesboro, TN. We were traveling on I-40 when the fever came over Tom… it had to be NOW! He just knew!!! It was time. But how?? No stage, no flowers….no ring! Hmmm…. And then! There was a REST AREA 1 MILE… so Tom pulled his Porsche into a parking space. Time seemed to stop. He gathered his thoughts and as they were headed back to the car after a bio break, he asked Mary to take a seat on a bench. Tom fumbled a couple words then blurted out “Mary, I just have to know…will you marry me?” There was a moment and a look of surprise on Mary’s face before she said the word “Yes”. Apparently, his urgency caused her to fear Tom was going to break up with her - nothing could be further from the truth! Tom made it official on December 15th - with a ring - at a beautiful dinner at the historic McNinch House in Charlotte.