His hand hovered over the keyboard.
All he had to do was hit "enter".
He'd answered all the questions.
Downloaded plenty of pictures.
Set his perimeters.
It was ready.
He was ready.
All he had to do was hit enter.
And he did.
She had ventured online before.
She'd had a few dates.
Had made some friends.
Had made some mistakes.
Had closed her dating site profiles.
Said "No more! Never again!"
She'd told God she would wait on Him.
And she waited.
Still.
Quiet.
Then God said "Move! It's time!"
But she'd said "No more dating sites! Never again!"
And God said "Move! Now!"
And so she did.
We were "slightly outside" each others perimeters.
But eHarmony thought we'd be compatible.
I looked at his profile and liked what I read.
And what I saw.
(He's so cute!!!)
But I never made the first contact.
I wanted to be pursued.
So I waited.
And then it happened.
He sent me the first in the eHarmony series of "get to know you" questions.
I checked out his profile - again.
Yup.
Still liked it.
I responded to his questions and sent my set to him.
Back and forth we went with the pre-set questions.
Then his "I'd like to skip to email" request came.
There was only one more set of questions
before eHarmony agreed we were ready to move to email
but I decided to accept his request to skip to email.
And for several weeks,
we shared our hearts and lives with one another in writing.
I was very careful.
He was very respectful of my need to protect myself.
When, after a couple weeks of daily correspondence,
I revealed that I had not used my "real" first name -
no last name, ever -
he understood and learned the new name quickly.
Then he asked.
"When you're ready, I'd like to meet."
I was ready.
He allowed me to name the date, place, and time.
My safety, first-date place.
Able to make a quick getaway without being followed.
Finally, the big day arrived.
I was excited - and a little nervous.
I arrived just a couple minutes early.
He was already there.
We were seated and began talking.
Three hours later,
we realized the restaurant had closed.
And I did not want a quick getaway!
He walked me to my car.
Told me he'd enjoyed our evening.
Opened my door.
Helped me in.
Shut the door.
And stood there while I drove off.
Keeping me safe.
I was hooked.
But he hadn't asked for my phone number.
Or my last name.
Hmmmmmmmmm..........
When I arrived home,
There in my eHarmony mail box
was his request.
"When you're ready, I'd like your full name
and phone number."
I was ready!
Yup.
Still liked it.
I responded to his questions and sent my set to him.
Back and forth we went with the pre-set questions.
Then his "I'd like to skip to email" request came.
There was only one more set of questions
before eHarmony agreed we were ready to move to email
but I decided to accept his request to skip to email.
And for several weeks,
we shared our hearts and lives with one another in writing.
I was very careful.
He was very respectful of my need to protect myself.
When, after a couple weeks of daily correspondence,
I revealed that I had not used my "real" first name -
no last name, ever -
he understood and learned the new name quickly.
Then he asked.
"When you're ready, I'd like to meet."
I was ready.
He allowed me to name the date, place, and time.
My safety, first-date place.
Able to make a quick getaway without being followed.
Finally, the big day arrived.
I was excited - and a little nervous.
I arrived just a couple minutes early.
He was already there.
We were seated and began talking.
Three hours later,
we realized the restaurant had closed.
And I did not want a quick getaway!
He walked me to my car.
Told me he'd enjoyed our evening.
Opened my door.
Helped me in.
Shut the door.
And stood there while I drove off.
Keeping me safe.
I was hooked.
But he hadn't asked for my phone number.
Or my last name.
Hmmmmmmmmm..........
When I arrived home,
There in my eHarmony mail box
was his request.
"When you're ready, I'd like your full name
and phone number."
I was ready!
