I love a good story! I love listening to a good story, reading a good story or telling a good story. Life is people and places… and stories. The week after I got engaged I was encouraged by a couple of friends to write one last blog. My friend Daniel really encouraged me. “You have a God story to tell!” I did? The more I have thought about it, I do! Dear friends, if you read my World Race blog or if you read my dating blog, I give you my last blog story. Thank you for being a part of my journey.
When people ask, “How did you meet Steven?” I say, “Eharmony.” And then that is pretty much the end of the conversation on how we met. (The lady altering my wedding dress said, “Oh I think that is scary!” So there is still that reaction to on-line dating.) The first couple of times this happened, all I could think was, “How boring! Eharmony!” Really, God? I go on over 100 first dates, I wrote my dating stories on a blog, and I don’t have a cool “How we met story.” Then I started to think about how God has been working in my life, and He gave me a great love story!
I have wanted to be a wife and mother for quite some time. As a child I would dress my pet raccoon (You read that right, raccoon, his name was Ernie.) and my cat up in baby clothes, push them around in strollers and put them to bed in my baby bed. I have always wanted a child of my own. By the end of my 30th year of life I had been on 85 first dates (Yes, I counted; I like to keep track of certain events. I drove 10,000 miles and visited 11 states this past summer. I held 3 newborn baby boys this summer. Stuff like that.) Years 31 and 32 brought more dating, but not Mr. Right. At 33 I gave up dating and started researching adoption and foster care. I knew that I was called to be a mother. Maybe I wasn’t supposed to be a “traditional mother.”
I started having dreams that my teeth were falling out. In the dream I had to catch all my teeth in my hands. Then when I woke up I would go to the mirror to check to make sure my teeth were still there. I was worried; I was losing control… I wasn’t quite ready to be a single mother. Thank you weird dreams! I started volunteering once a month with different organizations, bought myself a nice ring, and dedicated my life to Jesus and service. Which led me to the World Race.
You are not allowed to date while on the World Race. During my phone interview I was asked if that would be a problem. “Not at all!” I was so happy to have an out. I wanted to focus on God, to focus on His plan for my life and to forget about my desire of being a wife and mother. Every girl on F squad was a part of at least one tearful Molly Reel moment and my secret was out; I wanted to be married, I wanted to be a mother, and I felt like my time was running out.
I came home from the World Race in May 2015. I had my 100th first date in July in Rocky Mountain National Park during the park’s 100th anniversary celebration. Is that not a perfect story?! We had a great date; we went to my friend’s wedding, we hiked, we laughed, and we danced the night away. It was awesome! Until the end, when I got a half-hearted hug and the “I don’t long-distance date” talk. I struggled the rest of the summer.
I signed up for foster care training that fall. I had such a peace about foster care and knew it was time. Not a single teeth dream! I decided to sign up for Eharmony one last time while going through the classes. I had a couple of dates and all were okay. I knew they were not for me and me not for them. Christmas break was coming up and I knew I would be getting my foster license soon. As a last hoorah before my single days with no kids were up, two of my friends and I decided to do a three day-three state road trip. We also decided to check out our on-line dating accounts to see if we had any matches in those cities. The cute, fun looking guys we would send an e-mail asking them if they would want to meet us out for happy hour in their city. The invitation was for them and their single guy friends. The more the merrier!
The Sunday before the trip I cried to my prayer group friends. “When do I stop praying for a husband?” “Did God already answer my prayer, but it was with an answer I didn’t want?” They prayed with me for contentment in my singleness and for my future foster child. After they left I checked my Eharmony matches in the three upcoming road trip cities and came across Steven’s profile. We had a lot in common, but from his profile he didn’t seem like the type to want to meet three random girls out at a bar. I “winked” at him but did not send him an e-mail inviting him out. He responded to my wink with the first round of Eharmony questions. I responded and we continued the Eharmony steps.
I went on the road trip and left Steven hanging for a week. I came back from the trip to my official foster license in my mailbox. I debated if I should e-mail Steven back. I was going to be a mama soon and wasn’t quite sure what life would be like then. I remember thinking, “It won’t matter if you e-mail him back or not, it never works out anyways.” So I e-mailed him back. E-mails turned into phone calls and then phone calls into a date. We met in January in Iowa City. By the end of February I put my fostering on hold so that we could date without worrying about getting a foster phone call and child placement. We began seeing each other every weekend. At the beginning I kept thinking, “I like Steven, but he is not what I am expecting.” And then one day it hit me, “he is not what I expected, but he is everything I ever prayed for.” Steven is the fruit of the spirit; he is kind, patient, thoughtful, generous… he is a gift from God.
Steven wants to be a husband, a father and a friend. He loves the Lord and he loves me. I couldn’t ask for a better husband to be. I am so thankful for God’s story and timeline and not my own. I am so thankful for all the people God has put in my life. I am so thankful for all my single years. Thank you to all of you that have been a friend to me and loved me in my “waiting.” I am thankful for the bad dates and the heartache that came with dating because it makes me appreciate Steven so much more.
As I am writing this last paragraph it reminds me of the hymn “Blessed Assurance.” Which is the perfect way to end this story. This is my story, this is my song, praising my Savior all the day long! It also reminds me of Proverbs 13:12 “Hope deferred makes the heart sick but a desire fulfilled is a tree of life.” Thank you God for fulfilling a desire! May you know God’s love today.
Love,
Molly
1. Blessed assurance, Jesus is mine! Oh, what a foretaste of glory divine! Heir of salvation, purchase of God, Born of His Spirit, washed in His blood.
Refrain: This is my story, this is my song, Praising my Savior all the day long; This is my story, this is my song, Praising my Savior all the day long.
2. Perfect submission, perfect delight, Visions of rapture now burst on my sight; Angels, descending, bring from above Echoes of mercy, whispers of love.
3. Perfect submission, all is at rest, I in my Savior am happy and blest, Watching and waiting, looking above, Filled with His goodness, lost in His love.
