Falling In Love - Part III

At the age of 25, I was on full-ride scholarship at ASU and lived in Tempe in a condo with 2 roommates.  I worked full-time as a nanny and loved it.  Sometimes my nanny work took me out of state, like here in Telluride, CO.  Oh, how I loved these little children.  They were some of my best friends.

In my spare time, I ran, entering as many 10K’s and ½ marathons as my work schedule permitted. I biked or rollerbladed to campus.  I didn’t own a cell phone or a computer, but I did have a 15% discount at the food co-op.

Other then no health insurance and a botched love life, I was doing great.     

The men I came across left me feeling a bit desperate.

I’d been home from my 1½ year service mission for over a year and only dated men who needed full-time employment or serious mental evaluations or both.

What was a girl to do?

I always believed in prayer, so this girl decided to hike a mountain and pray.

On January 1^st, 1998, I hiked Camelback Mountain with one thing in mind:  I would go to God with a request.

I climbed to the top of that beautiful mountain and listened to the wind run through the cactus, a very peaceful sound I can assure you. I looked at the sun in the sky and felt the warmth on my face.  If God could make such a beautiful Valley of the Sun, then surely He would hear my prayer. 

“Please help me find him, whoever he is,” I said at the top of the mountain.  “I want to fall in love.”  I closed my eyes and envisioned my loving Father in Heaven.  I knew He knew me when an idea came into my mind.

A covenant. 

What is a covenant?

It is a two-way promise with God.

I had the idea to make a covenant.

I promised God I would attend every church meeting and activity if He would promise to help me find my one true love.

I believed in love just as much then as I do know and I believed if I fulfilled my end of the promise, God would answer my prayer.

Three days later, Sunday, January 4^th, 1998.  I attended church, knowing God would lead me to the person I was to marry when a handsome man approached me.  We talked for a while and he asked for my phone number.  “Let’s meet tomorrow night at the church for the singles activity,” he suggested.  “It will be a date.”

 

Enter bad date # 76, German graduate student who used too much hair gel and wore his pants too tight.

Still, I knew God had a plan for me so I agreed to meet German man the next night at the ASU Mormon Institute for Family Home Evening.  I worked a full day and rode my bike to campus that night.

German man greeted me inside the church and wanted to hold my hand.

This wasn’t going to well.  If this was the guy God had in mind for me, why did the idea of holding his hand leave me queasy?  I looked for the EXIT sign, but remembered I had made a promise with God to attend every church meeting and every single’s activity.  I didn't think it counted if I left early.

About 100 of us young adults were told to divide up into three groups because we were splitting up and going to different church leader’s homes.  Each group would be making New Year’s resolutions, than having dessert, a Mormon favorite.

An opportunity to “accidentally” ditch German man, I lost myself in the crowd exiting the church and gathering in the parking lot.  People were catching rides, so I opened the door to a car getting ready to drive over to the Bishop’s house.

“Well, thank you,” a voice behind me said and a tall frizzy-haired man took the open door next to me as an invitation to join me.  “Can I drive over with you?”

I don’t remember what I said, I just remember him squeezing into the back of the hatchback.  I sat in the front seat and a nice girl named Billie Jean drove us to the Bishop’s home.

Billie Jean was a talker, funny and high-spirited.  She flirted openly with the cute tall shy guy in the back seat, while I made sure I didn't see German man entering the Bishop’s house.  It appeared safe, so I made my way into the home.  This same tall shy guy from the back of the car offered to save a seat for me while I grabbed a drink of water.  When I returned, he had a piece of paper and pen so I could “write down my goals.”  The bishop made suggestions for the group: spiritual goals, financial goals, fitness goals.  I knew what my goal was:  in 1998 I would find my husband.

The evening ended with cake and another 5-minute car ride with Billie Jean and tall shy guy back to the ASU Institute.  Billie Jean was really trying to get shy guy’s attention, so I let her do all the talking, but shy guy walked me to my bike anyway and lingered while I undid my lock.  I thanked him and Billy Jean and pedaled home.  I wasn’t sure where the evening went.  I didn’t meet anyone I was interested in.  How long did it take for God to answer prayers anyway?

To read falling in love Part I, click here.

To read falling in love Part II, click here.