Shocking, I know. It’s still crazy to me that this was the platform that would bring my husband and me together. Let me fill you in on the details… ๐
I had been single for a while and went to visit a friend in San Francisco. While I was there my friend and I talked life, and love, and why I wasn’t on Tinder yet!ย After much convincing, I caved and decided it was, in fact, time to “get back out there”, so why not try Tinder? I committed to going out on 5 different dates, at which point I could delete the app if I hated it. I wasn’t too thrilled about finding dates this way but I knew I could make it through five awkward evenings, plus I thought it would be fun to push myself out of my comfort zone.
My friend graciously volunteered to set up my Tinder profile for me. I insisted that there be something that identified me as a Christian on my profile in hopes of weeding out some people. “Back then” (early Tinder days) the profiles were pretty simple with just a few pictures and a tagline. So my friend and I decided that 2 Timothy 1:7 (my favorite verse) would be my tagline and hopefully that would help me out. Please Lord keep the weirdos away!
So, in early 2013 I put myself back in the dating game. Over the next month, I met 5 different guys, had 5 tolerable dinners, 5 very similar first date conversations, five awkward goodbyes, and then…I hung up my cleats (sports talk for being DONE). I deleted the app and laughed with my friends about the memories, proud of myself for trying something new. The dates were fine but they were nothing to write home about. I did feel pretty good getting back into the dating scene but was sure my future husband wasn’t on Tinder. ๐
While this was going on, Jonathan had also joined Tinder. He says he joined solely for entertainment. Surprisingly, he never went on a single Tinder date until his date with me. Thank you Lord.ย Apparently in the summer of 2013 Jonathan and I had matched on Tinder, so he messaged me. All he got back was silence (I had deleted the app by this point). After a few weeks, Jonathan deleted the app, too. I like to think he deleted it because he was so sad I never messaged him back, but in reality I think he just got bored.
Well, as fate would have it, almost as soon as Jonathan deleted the app I rejoined. No joke. And as soon as I got back on, I saw that he had messaged me. I distinctly remember he was one of the profiles I had looked at a lot… and I always hoped he would message me so I was freaking out! I messaged him back right away only to receive weeks of silence. Daaaangit! I remember feeling so disappointed but obviously we know how this story ends. ๐
In early November, we were on the app at the same time and finally connected! Hallelujah!
We texted back and forth for a few days and after we figured out how much we had in common, we quickly set up a time to meet. Originally, we scheduled our meet up a week in advance. But the more we talked, the more we got excited to meet. “Next Sunday” turned to “Next Friday,” until we settled on Wednesday. Obviously we were vibing!
I picked Starbucks in Kirkland and asked for an 8pm meeting time because I knew Starbucks closed at 9pm. ๐ If this date ended up being terrible, I knew that I only had to endure an hour before we’d get kicked out. I also made sure a few friends knew where I would be…all good precautions to take when you’re online dating.
Obviously the date went well because now Jonathan’s my husband. We ended up getting kicked out of Starbucks that night but then spent the next 3 hours walking around the Kirkland waterfront chatting. It was the most immediate connection I had ever experienced with anyone and I feel so blessed every day to have him as my hubby. So yes, I have Tinder to thank for the wonderful husband I have today. Crazy, right?
Now four years later we have a beautiful little family with Macey joining us in May 2017!
Like any family, we’ve been through our difficult patches, but these are my people. I love my family!
Jeannie says
I always say that God can redeem anything…even a tinder account! So very happy this worked for you because i love this little family to pieces!! ๐
chelsea says
I love this post. xoxo