Who doesn’t love a good love story? Rom coms and romance novels are plentiful! Hallmark keeps pumping out movies with the same boy meets girl, relationship-nearly-falls-apart-because-of-a-misunderstanding-yet-ends-happily-ever-after plot line year after year—and we keep watching. Why? Because they capture what we all want: love and a happily ever after.
Maybe you’ve found love and are living your happily ever after, and watching movies of others falling in love and finding what you have brings you joy. Maybe you’re still waiting, and watching rom coms or reading romance novels gives you hope—until the book or movie ends, and you’re left wondering, “When is it going to be my turn? And how do people meet?!”
I’m in camp living-my-happily-ever-after, but my days of waiting weren’t that long ago. I got married at age 26. If you’re not familiar with midwestern Christian culture, that was a good three to five years older than most of my friends were when they got married. Basically, I felt like I was sailing straight towards being an old maid.
I vividly remember wondering just how people met. Several people tried setting me up with their friends’ sons, grandsons, and other seemingly eligible young men. Every time, I would get hopeful. Every time, I would get disappointed. Either they rejected me within minutes of our introduction or conversation dragged.
Rejection stung and made me wonder what was wrong with me. Disappointment made me wish the matchmakers would quit trying. But…it wasn’t like I was surrounded by potential husbands. The church I worked at and attended was primarily comprised of people 25+ years older than I was, and I was in a degree completion program with married and/or older men.
How did people meet? And once they met, how did they decide they liked the other person enough to say “til death do us part”?
Whether you are still waiting or you are living your happily ever after, I’m excited to bring a new series of posts to you! The series is called How Did They Meet? I will be presenting several different answers to this question! I’ll share how my husband and I (finally) met, and how some of my friends met their husbands. I’m excited to hear their love stories, and I hope you follow along!
Imperfect Pearl 