Luke and I had both been single for several years. We’d each decided to just live our lives, travel, and work. If someone came along who we wanted to spend forever with, that would be great. But neither of us were seeking anyone out.

One day, Luke received a text from a friend who used to go to his church. This friend now goes to church with my sister. The text had a picture of me and said that his wife thought we might make a good couple. He added that he had filtered out other women his wife had suggested, but thought we might actually be a good fit. Luke thought about it for a few days, but was busy traveling for work and planning a trip to Japan, so he waited.

Meanwhile, I was told that this friend wanted to set us up and asked if I would text him or be willing to meet up to go on a blind date (both of which I didn't feel comfortable doing). I didn't want to start a texting or long distance relationship with anyone. I feel like it can be difficult to really get to know someone unless you see them in person- reacting to different situations on a daily or weekly basis. However, I relented. If he wanted to text me, I would consider texting him back. I figured it wouldn't hurt to at least make a new acquaintance or friend from it. I also figured we were old enough to know what we wanted, and to be intentional in our texts.

Well, in March, Luke came to Oklahoma City for work. One evening he went out to eat with a vendor and some coworkers. He was bored and thought, Hey why not text this girl, so I can tell my friend I texted her. So I got a text from a random number that said, "Hey, is this Anna?" I googled the area code, and it was a western Nebraska number. I texted back, "Yes." But then I felt like that was too short, so I said, "Who is this?" He said his name was Luke and a mutual friend had given him my number. We started texting, and we’ve never stopped.

After texting, talking on the phone, and FaceTiming for a couple of months, we met in person and hit it off. He asked me to be his girlfriend, and I said yes. I had been praying for a while that God would send me a man who would text me first, want to pursue me, and that I wouldn't fall in love unless it was with my future husband. Long distance wasn't easy with visits to each other's homes and to meet the families, but we made it work and we can't wait for the day we don't have to be apart. I had always heard the saying, "When you know, you know." It never made sense until I met Luke. I'm so thankful we waited for each other and waited on God's timing!

Registry