Our Story

 

I tapped my finger on my leg with the windshield wipers. It felt like everyone in Columbus, Ohio must have decided to get in a car and drive to the airport that day. As the car finally shifted into park, I grabbed my luggage and raced to the check in desk to see if I had missed my flight. Breathlessly, I tried to comprehend what the lady told me. My flight had been delayed. Storms in Houston. “I just want to get to Amarillo,” I told my brother. But he only seemed to be worried about lunch. The airport was full of many other discouraged travelers that day, but I didn’t see any of them as I strode with forceful and deliberate steps toward the hamburger stand to reimburse my brother for driving me to the airport. Suddenly a tap on my shoulder brought me back to consciousness. “Excuse me ma’am.” In jolt of reality I turned abruptly. I turned to see a man was slowly lowering himself down on one knee.

“Kate, will you marry me?”

“Yes!” Tears of joy filling my eyes.

It began only the autumn before. It was already dark outside as I left my office and headed home. I worked for a church plant that met in a YMCA in the small town of Lancaster, Ohio. The church was growing rapidly, and I was hired to create children and youth ministries. I worked long hours, but it was rewarding and I loved it. As I wearily arrived home that evening, my mom greeted me with her laptop and credit card. “Kate,” she said, “I am going to pay for one month. I think you should try eHarmony.” This was not the first time my mom had tried to persuade me to sign up. But that night was the first night I agreed. With my sister on my right, my mom on my left with her credit card in hand, they watch me spend the next two hours taking the tedious personality test. I lingered for just a moment on the length of the distance I would be willing to relocate before I chose: anywhere.

The only thing I knew about Amarillo, Texas was that there are a few country songs written about it, but that all soon changed. My mom and sister, who both knew my eHarmony password, daily updated me on the new matches I received. Two weeks later, I logged back onto eHarmony this time with my dad by my side. As my dad and I leisurely discussed life and ministry, I began to roam through my 90+ matches deleting them as I went. My dad, who thought the eHarmony adventure was a joke, asked if out of all my matches would I consider talking to any of them. I hesitated scrolling down the computer screen. There was just one. David from Amarillo, Texas. It said David was in ministry. He has no picture posted, and in fact he was not even an eHarmony member; he had only taken their personality test. Without much thought, I clicked on “Nudge this user to join,” and continued deleting my matches.

A few days later, I received an email notice from eHarmony telling me that David from Amarillo, Texas had requested my communication. I immediately logged back in to see the picture of a very handsome Texan. And we began rapid-fire eHarmony communication. Within a week, we had completed all of the controlled communication, and we were able to begin emailing each other. Formalities were quickly dropped, and I found myself sharing stories about my life. I asked David from Amarillo, Texas, as many questions as I could come up with; I wanted to know everything about him. David wrote with such sincerity. I drank in his words from the pages of his emails that I printed so I could read and reread them. Through his words I heard his voice, and by those words I learned his character. I discovered that he was a man of humility and conviction, of compassion and Godly wisdom. He told me about his precious family and his church of 20 years, Trinity Fellowship. The thing that I loved the most was that woven into his words and stories was the voice of an authentic man who passionately loved Jesus, and with David every email always seem to come back to Him.

I was convinced that David would weigh the immense difficulty of pursuing this relationship and find me an unworthy woman of such a costly pursuit. So with great confidence, I entered the relationship with nothing to loose. Days turned into weeks. Emails turned to phone conversations lasting until the wee hours of the morning. His voice was the same I had heard in the emails in sincerity and character. The more I learned about David, the more I realized that I have never known a man more worthy of my admiration, and to my great surprise the more I told him who I was, the more that he pursued my heart more. As weeks turned into months, there was only one thing that I knew: we had to meet.

David and I met face-to-face for the first time in the Columbus Airport right outside of a hamburger stand (yes, the same place we later got engaged). I was so nervous the only thing I ate all day was M&M’s, and of course his plane was ninety minutes late (storms in Houston!). But all my nerves and fears went away when the man whose character I already knew and whose voice was already familiar, was finally standing before me. David and I began to plan trips to see one another as often as we could. Every time I would come back to Ohio from visiting David people would ask me what Texas was like. I would always tell them that I had never been anywhere but home that felt more like home, and I had never met people other than family that felt more like family. Through our trips I could see and experience the qualities of Jesus that I admired in David so deeply were genuine. Many times thoughts of leaving my family and home filled me with fear, but in those moments I always listened for my Father’s voice of peace. As I relinquished my fears, God in His great faithfulness and lovingkindness whispered to me His good plan and filled my heart with love. David, whose heart God had so beautifully knit to mine, was my husband.

Today get to do ministry with my best friend and husband. Each day that passes is a reminder that my God’s faithfulness is more than I could ever imagine. But more than seeing the joy of marriage, God has shown me His divine analogy of romance. Through the amazing gift of my husband, I have seen Jesus, the One that has already captured my heart. By His words and His voice, He has pursued my heart with His love. And one day, He will come to meet me, redeem me, and take me to the home He has prepared for me.

Now I know the sound His voice, and soon I will see His face.

Epilogue

Pastor David Ritchie and his wife Kate live in Canyon, Texas. David leads and preaches at North (Trinity Fellowship’s Young Adult/College Ministry). Kate leads a young women’s lifegroup. And they live happily ever after with their puppy (Calvin the Corgi).