How We Met

I moved to Texas in 2006 to be a part of a youth ministry in Fort Worth. Right around the same time, Jason moved to Dallas to help with a church plant. At my going away party in California, the consistent message I heard from my girlfriends was, "Girl, go find yourself a man!" Happily, my man found me. :)

I was in Texas for almost a year when I had my first breakup. I had been dating a young man for about 2 months, when he decided we needed to "take a break" so he could focus on work for awhile. He planned on getting back together later, but I knew in my heart that would not be happening. Despite my sadness at the breakup, I knew it was the right thing, and I shouldn't allow the relationship to reformulate after time.

This same month, I visited a small group and asked a woman who was known for her prophetic gifting to pray for me regarding the whole situation. She prayed what might be considered an unusual prayer, but one that really resonated with my spirit as being inspired by the Holy Spirit. She prayed, "Lord, as Laurel's leaving here today, I pray that she'll see a sign, a literal street sign, that You would use to encourage her spirit and speak to her." My heart was filled with a strange expectancy as I drove home that evening.

As I pulled out of the cul de sac, the first sign I saw read: "Single? KellerSingles.com." I laughed out loud, thinking, "That most certainly is not the Lord!" As I drove home, I saw another sign that said, "Business," and still another sign that said, "Family." I felt encouraged that both of these things were a part of my future, and I was on the right track.

The next night I attended a prayer meeting where I saw the prophetic woman again. I shared with her what had happened as I left the cul de sac, laughing all the while. Her response surprised me, to say the least, and peaked my curiousity. She was thoughtful and reflective, and left me with the feeling that that first sign just might have been the Lord after all! I went home and pulled up the website, and made an appointment to go to their Fort Worth office and find out more.

Around the same time, on the other side of town, Jason heard the Lord speak to his heart, "Now's the time for you for the right relationship that I have for you." Jason hadn't really dated for several years, and worked in an environment with all men. Also, the church plant he was a part of was made up of all married people and one single mom of three, which wasn't really what he was looking for. That said, he somehow heard about the same singles group I did and signed up as well!

This singles group had two dimensions to it: 1) They planned events in the city for people to attend and hang out, which I loved! and 2) There was the online dimension where you could view profiles and send invitations to people you would be interested in meeting personally. Not gonna lie, that part was fun too. :)

Jason found my profile and sent me an invitation. I saw right off the bat that he had a daughter and had been divorced, so I almost deleted him immediately, but then I went on to read what he had written. I could tell there was spiritual depth to him like I hadn't really expected to find in this group, so I thought I'd be a fool if I didn't at least give him a chance. Apparently that was a good choice!

Jason called me the next weekend and invited me out to lunch after church. That was a 2-3 hour lunch with much potential. He called again the next day and invited me to go to a football game the following Thursday of one of the students from his church. That was refreshing, as normally I was the one inviting others to youth events! I almost didn't go, as it seemed like a lot for one week, and we already had plans for the following Saturday, but I did end up going. I didn't want to discourage his initiative, which I found very refreshing.

The next Saturday we attended a picnic being put on by his church, and he cooked for me for the first time! That was definitely a hook, but was only one piece of what ultiamtely pushed me over the edge. We also talked for several more hours, and he told stories of movies he'd seen and books he read. I immensely enjoyed his fascination with the intricacies of plot lines!

Then came the kicker... He walked me to my car at the end of the picnic and said, "Well, I guess it's time for the big question." To be honest, I had no idea what he was talking about. :) He followed up by asking, "So, do you maybe want to go inactive?" It was awesome! He of course was referring to taking our names out of the mix for other people to contact within the singles group and give our relationship a try. I had never been asked so creatively to be someone's girlfriend! I obviously thought it would be worth a try, and as the proverbial "they" say, "The rest is history!"