Wimberly's Side of the StoryIf someone had asked me a few years ago if I would meet my future husband online, I would’ve said absolutely not. God had different plans.
One night after talking with a friend about meeting people, I got bored, so I downloaded a dating app, which I had done many times before only to delete a few minutes later. I hardly ever “swiped right” on anyone on the app because I wasn’t really on there to actually meet anyone. I didn’t truly believe there would be anyone on there that I would get along with or end up liking. If I did “swipe right,” it was extremely rare that I would ever answer any messages from anyone, I would never initiate a conversation, and I vowed that I would never meet anyone I met online. I watch way too much Criminal Minds and Law and Order for that! But the night I downloaded it after thinking about what my friend and I talked about, I had no idea how life changing it was going to be. I happened upon Rhett’s profile, and I’m not exactly sure why I decided to “swipe right” on him. I definitely thought he was cute, and I liked that he was a nurse because I knew that probably meant he had a good head on his shoulders, but what really stood out to me was his mention of his faith. Before I could really think about it, I swiped. Pretty much immediately, the message popped up on my screen that we had “matched.” I shrugged it off because I knew I wasn’t going to message him or talk to him or certainly even meet him. I know God had to be laughing at me while I was thinking all of that. I went to bed having not deleted the app like I normally would have. Later, when I saw that I had a message from him, I internally rolled my eyes because I was bracing myself for something super creepy or cheesy like pretty much every other message I had received. I was shocked to see that he had only sent “hey” instead. Like before, I really can’t explain why I decided to message him back, but I attribute it partially to his message being normal and not creepy. After I replied with another simple “hey,” it didn’t take long for our conversation to take off. We messaged using the app constantly. He mentioned some details about his church and high school, which sounded familiar, so I decided to text my best friend Tori. It turned out that he went to the same church as her, graduated with her cousin, and she knew his sister. After Tori’s little “recon” mission, I was happy to know that Rhett was not psycho or a serial killer and was a genuinely nice guy. We had many serious conversations from the very beginning and turned out to have not only many things in common, but also the same values and beliefs concerning marriage, our faith, and our futures. Rhett made it clear to me that he wanted to get to know me as a person and hopefully a friend before we considered anything else, and I was so appreciative of that. The more we talked, the more messages we sent that could only be described as books, the more things lined up. On New Years Eve, we exchanged phone numbers and began planning to meet in person. Our conversations didn’t slow down at all and we continued texting every day. I found myself waiting for a message from him and smiling when his name popped up on my phone. I prayed a lot during this time because I was extremely anxious about actually meeting him, and I was so worried that he was too good to be true. On January 11, we met at a local dessert place. When we stepped out of our cars and he looked up and smiled at me, I remember clearly hearing in my head “this is him.” At the time, I thought it was just my brain confirming that this was the guy I had been talking to, but now I know that it had to be God telling me that I’d found my soulmate. Despite being so anxious that my hand was making my water glass shake, our time together that day was great. Before we knew it, we had been there for five hours, interrupted only by an incoming storm that he needed to beat home. When I got home from our date, I remember feeling a strong feeling of peace. And the rest is history. Rhett is everything that I ever prayed for in a husband. The amount of things that have been revealed to be intertwined between our two lives is not an accident, and it is clear to me that God’s hand has been in our relationship since before we were even thought of. It didn’t take long for me to realize I had found the person I was meant to spend the rest of my life with because it felt like he should have always been there with me. I consider Rhett to be one of the biggest blessings in my life, and for me, our relationship is such a testimony to God’s goodness and the fact that He hears prayers and fulfills promises. Our adventure together is only just beginning, but I cannot wait to see how God is going to work in and through our marriage. |
Rhett's Side of the Story Meeting Wimberly was nothing short of a blessing sent from God. For years, I told my family that I wasn’t interested in dating. Little did they know, I was waiting and praying for the day I’d meet the woman that I wanted to spend the rest of my life with. Using a dating app was the very last way I imagined this would happen, but I had seen friends have success with it and decided to give it a shot. After getting on a few times and feeling like I was wasting my time, I was nearly to the point of deleting the app. There were things going on within the app that just were not things I was interested in, so deleting it seemed like the best option. God had other plans.
Before deleting the app, I decided to log back in one night while lying in bed just before going to sleep. Again, I noticed that there were many things going on that I wanted no part in. When I stumbled upon Wimberly’s profile, I immediately noticed that something about her was different. Besides the smile that caught my eye, I remember mention of her faith in the bio. That was different. I felt that my chance of getting a response wasn’t very good, but I had to give it a try. I swiped right and, to my surprise, we matched a short time later. I sent a simple “hey,” and minutes later she replied. We began to talk quite a bit about where we were in life and what our plans were for the future. The conversations on Tinder went on for a few days until we exchanged phone numbers on New Year’s Eve. We continued to talk day after day. Texting her became a normal part of my day. I couldn’t wait to hear from her. I was starting to realize that she was special and that, if given the chance to really get to know her, I would definitely be interested in a relationship. Though the anxiety of meeting a new person was very much real, we both wanted to meet in person. There is only so much you can learn about a person by texting. We planned to meet at Decadent on January 11th. I made it through most of the day without too much anxiety. My biggest fear was that, because we are both introverted, we would get to the table and not have a single thing to talk about. The anxiety only really began on the drive there and in the parking lot whenever I noticed she had gotten there. Seeing each other for the first time was exciting even through the anxiety, and I remember the first time we made eye contact like it was yesterday. My fear of having nothing to talk about was proved wrong whenever we looked up at the time and realized that we had been talking for five hours. We talked about everything you could imagine and never once felt that the conversation was being forced. I left knowing she was special and praying that I would have another chance to see her. Nearly a year later, I know without a doubt that God intended Wimberly and I to be together. She supports me in all that I do, understands me in a way that no one else ever has, and loves me for who I am. Knowing that I get to love her for the rest of my life is something that I am grateful for every day. God has used her in so many ways to show Himself to me. She is gracious, kind, and has a heart for loving people like I have never known before. She is a daily reminder to me of God’s faithfulness to hear and answer our prayers, even if it takes years for Him to do so. Our story and adventures thus far have been incredible, and we know that things will only get better as we begin to tackle life together as husband and wife. |