He Feels Like Home to Me

We are getting married! David and I are going to embark on a wonderfully terrifying, and fantastically beautiful adventure together. We are both taking the leap of faith into the sacred union of marriage. We are choosing to believe in the power of love, for the second time around.

There is nothing easy about dating as a mid-single widow and a divorcee. (We have been dating for eight months.) Between the two of us, we have nine children. Our journey has been a very interesting one. We have purposefully taken our time to really get to know each other, because our love has an influence on so many others, besides just the two of us. We have done more than just fall in love, we have become the best of friends. I could not be more grateful for having such a wonderful friend and loving companion in my life.

Oh my goodness, I love David!

The journey has not been easy all of the time, but it has been really beautiful. We both bring with us dramatic life lessons that we have learned, from some very difficult experiences. My experiences have been dealing with death, and his have been dealing with divorce; but our journeys and life lessons seem to have been on a parallel, yet similar, path. We walked on different roads fraught with grief and heartache, but the roads were unknowingly leading us to each other. We feel as though David has learned lessons from his experiences so he would be prepared for me, and I have learned lessons from my experiences so I could be prepared for him. I have already learned powerful lessons from him, that I could not have learned any other way.

We have had challenging moments as we have dated, which is to be expected, in our circumstances. But even during the hard times, I would say to him, "If we ever break up, I am still going to call you, to talk to you about everything." I absolutely love talking to him, about everything.

Somewhere along the way, I realized that I need David in my life... forever. And lucky for me, he feels the same way.

I want to grow old with David!

So, how did we meet, you ask? Well, it is quite miraculous, and God certainly had His hand in the timing!

I was a member of a mid-singles Latter-Day Saint Facebook group. I never used it, and I never went to any of the activities. One night, I felt a very strong prompting to write a little post on the Facebook page. It was a small and still voice in my head that encouraged me to make an effort.

So, I sat down at my computer, and I posted a message asking if there were any activities coming up that were non-threatening. I mentioned I had made a commitment to attend one activity during the summer. I then added in the comments section that I was looking for an activity to go to, so I could find a guy to date, so that I could marry him. I decided, what the heck? Why not be really forward and honest about my intentions. David "liked" my intentions, with a Facebook thumbs up.

Moments later, I received a personal Facebook message from David, asking me on a date. I was not sure about him, but I noticed we had two friends in common, so I reached out to one of them, and asked her what she knew about him. She had worked with him for many years, and she gave him very high praise, encouraging me to go for it. So, I did.

The first time I talked to David on the phone, we talked for hours and hours. We connected immediately in a unique and special way. But it took me awhile to be brave enough to go out with him. We went on a few dates before I started warming up to him. I could not even really see him. On the first few dates, all I could see was that he was not Charles, and it was so hard to adjust to seeing him... I could not yet see David as himself. David was very patient with me in my awkward space of figuring things out.

Luckily, my vision was allowed to shift and change, and my eyes and heart slowly were opened to him, but it took some time. Trying to open my heart to love for a second time, was harder than I thought it would be.

I had read an article about how you should give everything at least three chances, to see if you can come to like it, or even love it. So, on our third date, I decided to be totally open to him in a way I had not yet been. I had been so closed off, but I was willing to try again... there was just something about him.

We met at the temple parking lot, and drove downtown to walk around. As we were walking, David offered his arm, and I took it. After awhile, he asked if he could hold my hand. I took his hand, and I noticed how strong his hands were. Electricity went flying through my body. I had not held hands with a man for almost five years! My heart begin to squirm with new and unexpected (wonderful!) feelings.

We ended up in an area downtown where there were stars projected on the ground. We sat closely under the stars and I said, "All we need is some music." David quickly pulled out his phone, and turned on Pandora. The song that came on was called "Stardust," by Nat King Cole. It was a magical moment for us, while sitting close under the projected stars.

It was a moment that really changed everything. 

We continued talking and texting each other, and on our next date, we went to a place in Meridian called the Village. It is a place with colorful water fountain shows, that dance to music. It was an insanely romantic location. It was so romantic, in fact, that we found ourselves sitting closely on an outdoor couch, debating whether or not we should give kissing a try. I did not plan to kiss him that night, and he did not plan on it either, but the chemistry between us in that moment was incredible. We were snuggled close together, but I was so nervous to even think about kissing again. I was worried I had forgotten how, because it had been so long!

As the colored water fountains magically danced around us, my desire to kiss David became all-consuming. I could no longer resist. We both leaned into each other, without hesitation. We gently connected our lips for the first time, and we have not stopped kissing since!

Truly, our relationship beginning just goes to show how it is by small and simple things, that great things are brought to pass. I could have completely ignored that prompting to write that very short and simple Facebook message that night. But I listened. I made the tiny little effort. And David made the small effort to just take a risk and reach out to me. Our simple efforts have made all the difference! And how grateful I am that Heavenly Father whispered in my ear that night, so that David could find me, and we can be in love together!

There is so much more to our story, but for now, here are some pictures of us loving each other.

This guy right here. He is my best friend. I love David so much. I am pretty sure he loves me too. ;)

 

Thank you to Sammi for taking our pictures!

David and I have a song. It is called, "Feels like Home." 

This song so beautifully describes how I feel about my David. He really does feel like home to me! I cannot wait to marry him! 

Feels like Home

Chantal Kreviazuk

Something in your eyes
Makes me want to lose myself
Makes me want to lose myself
In your arms
There's something in your voice
Makes my heart beat fast
Hope this feeling lasts
The rest of my life
If you knew how lonely my life has been
And how long I've been so alone
If you knew how I wanted someone to come along
And change my life the way you've done

It feels like home to me
It feels like home to me
It feels like I'm all the way back where
I come from
It feels like home to me
It feels like home to me
Feels like I'm all the way back where I belong

A window breaks down a long dark street
And a siren wails in the night
But I'm alright 'cause I have you here with me
And I can almost see through the dark there is light

If you knew how much this moment means to me
And how long I've waited for your touch
If you knew how happy you are making me
I never thought that I'd love anyone so much

It feels like home to me
It feels like home to me
It feels like I'm all the way back where
I come from
It feels like home to me
It feels like home to me
Feels like I'm all the way back where I belong