Man Find 2010

We called it Man Find 2010.  It was near the end of July 2009.  A dear group of girlfriends were in town for a weekend of fun.  Girls’ night out was a must do.  Can you guess where a group of 6 girls wanted to go? Dessert, of course!  As each indulged herself on bites of creme brulee, triple berry crisp and chocolate bread pudding, people got comfortable pretty quickly.  It wasn’t long before the topic was raised…

Danielle, you are turning 28 in a few days.  Let’s face it, you’re not getting any younger.  I think it’s time for you to dive back into the dating scene.  You need to sign up on Eharmony and give it another chance, no matter the cost, no matter your previous experiences.  We’re going to call it “Man Find 2010”.  Our hope is that by the end of 2010 you will meet and marry your husband, but you need to set yourself up for success and we think eHarmony is one of the best ways to do so.  We’ll commit it to prayer, form a private facebook group to post updates and see how God shows up. 

Begrudgingly, I conceded.  That night I rejoined eHarmony.  Maybe round 3 would bring fresh hope to my search for a husband.

Well, it didn’t go so great.  I couldn’t wait to end my contract at the end of my 3 month commitment.  I have a few funny stories to show for it, but mostly it was disappointing.  I was DONE with eHarmony.  I would rather be single and satisfied then married and miserable.  That was my standard line.  Somehow, I managed to do a pretty good job of convincing myself of this after so many failed dates.  That fall of 2009 was pretty busy with travels, work, and keeping up with friends.  Somehow, towards the end of October, I missed the deadline to cancel the plan.  It automatically renewed for an additional 3 months.  I was stuck.

Meanwhile, in my small group, we were praying big prayers.  My leaders had shared how in their previous group, they had a season where they focused on praying BIG prayers for eachother, life transforming prayers.  God showed up and awesome things happened.  I was inspired.  I felt in my heart that it was time for me to pray mountain moving prayers too.  I had been praying to meet my future husband for a long time, but was always reluctant to share my deepest desires in mixed company.  You get to a certain age and haven’t met the right man and people start telling you that you need to seek “contentment” in your current situation.

Well, one night, I decided to share.  I was completely surprised when the group embraced me.  I told them that I wanted to meet my future husband by the end of the year.  It was early November.   The group prayed, but in my mind’s eye I couldn’t even begin to anticipate how God would bring about his answer.

Later that month, during my morning breaks at work, I began to get into the habit of logging in daily to my eHarmony account.  I found it quite entertaining to scroll through my recent matches.  It was a welcomed interruption from the fast pace of the operating room.  A few minutes of R & R for the brain.  It was on one of these breaks of mine that I saw him. He was handsome with a genuine smile.  I decided, “What the heck?  I’m going to initiate contact.”  Things began to flow pretty quickly.

We officially met December 21, 2009.

The rest is history.

Man Find 2010 – MISSION accomplished.  JUST. LIKE. THAT.