Seven Years

June 13th was our seven year wedding anniversary. Although I am posting this late, I thought I would commemorate our seven years by sharing the story of how we met. I'm guessing about half of my blog followers have heard this story, but I think it's just too good not to share for those who haven't heard it! So, here goes.

In October of 2002, I moved to Boise due to a job transfer with Weyerhaeuser. The few years prior to my move were tough for me. My mom had passed away in '99 which really threw me for a tailspin. Losing a parent is tough, but I really didn't handle it well. A couple of years before she passed away, I had gone through a pretty tough divorce. Then, about six months before I moved to Boise my dad passed away. All of these experiences brought out different emotions in me, but all in all I just felt lost.

And so I decided to move to Boise. I figured maybe this could be a fresh start for me. I was getting close to 30 and really needed to get on with my life. Maybe this could be my chance.

Meanwhile, Jeff had lived in Boise for about three years. He was 27 and had gone through a rough few years trying to find his way in life. He had tried different jobs that didn't work out so great. He had dated several girls that weren't right for him. He was watching his siblings get married and move into careers and here he was, not really sure where his life was headed. He was frustrated to say the least.

In a conversation with his brother, Micah, Jeff expressed some of his frustrations about not being able to meet the right girl. Micah gave him some advice that had worked for him. He told him it was simple. "Fast once a week, pray and you will find your wife." It had to be every week...no cheating. So, Jeff figured, "What the heck. What do I have to lose?"

First week. He fasted. He prayed. No wife.

Second week. He fasted. He prayed. Again, no wife.

He gets a little frustrated. "How many weeks am I going to have to do this?!", he's thinking. (He is so impatient!)

Third week. He fasted. He prayed. This time he said "You're just going to have to bring her to me." He was done trying to find "the one" through dating, singles wards, set ups, etc. So he turned it all over to the Lord. This was on Monday.

On Wednesday, two missionaries from our church showed up on his doorstep with my phone number.

They had met me earlier that day when they stopped in to visit my niece. When they found out I was new in the area and single, they asked if they could get my number and get me hooked up with the local LDS singles crowd. Their real intention was to give my number to Jeff.

Some might think this was just lucky timing. We say there were higher powers at play here. I think anyone who knows us very well would say that divine intervention was probably necessary for us! And from our first phone conversation, we both knew there was something special about each other. Four months after we met we were engaged and four months after that we were married.

I don't know where those missionaries are now. I don't even know if they were great missionaries or not, but they were definitely on the Lord's errand the day they gave Jeff my number. And how many people can say they were set up by some missionaries?