I was on eHarmony.com, and matched with a girl in Santa Barbara.  While emailing, it became obvious to both of us that we weren’t meant for each other.  After we agreed on that, she said that she thought that her best friend and I would be good for each other...  Since it was only one step weirder than what I was already doing, I decided to go for it!  We started emailing in January, talked on the phone for two months (not all one phone call!), and I went out to visit her on the first weekend of June, and we started dating then.

 

It’s been really amazing and a huge blessing from God, as I see Him involved in our relationship.  He’s so good!

 

After many months of visiting each other about once a month, I moved to Santa Barbara.  I left the day after Christmas in 2006, and drove across in three days (in time for a small group retreat by Yosemite), and then got into Santa Barbara on the first of the year.

 

It’s been really good to live in the same town for the first time, and get to explore our relationship in a daily context.  The transition here has been much smoother than either of us hoped for, which is great!  It’s been thoroughly enjoyable to get to know each other in  the events of each day.

 

Time passes...

We’re married!  We got married on the twenty-second of September, and bliss has inevitably ensued.  The wedding was perfect, being really worship-centered, and it was really amazing to say our vows and kiss and be man and wife!  I wouldn’t have changed anything in the ceremony at all!

 

For our honeymoon, we went to Mackinac Island (pronounced Mackinaw), which is between the two peninsulas of Michigan.  There’s no motorized vehicles allowed on the island, so the pace of life is really relaxing.  It was really great to unwind and relax and see the sights.  After a week there, we took a week and toured the Upper Peninsula, hiking into the backcountry, seeing waterfalls and the beautiful Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore.  It was a great time, and a really great start to our marriage!