It has been a long and broken road to each other, but gratitude fills both of our hearts now!
Brian and I have both been through a lot in our lives. We've loved and lost, but never lost hope in love finding us again. We understand, at our age, that in order to be fully capable of loving someone, we have to be a whole person, which means first loving and respecting ourselves.
Something that was very important to us was finding a partner who shared a strong faith. It's wonderful to be able to pray together and for that to be our first inclination when we face challenges. I've always dreamed of that!
As we were getting to know each other, we discovered several ways that it seemed God was trying to intersect our paths, but we missed it. The important thing is that we have one another now.
After both of us taking a long and introspective hiatus from our last relationships, we each decided to go the route of eHarmony...and for similar reasons, it appears. We felt like the extra effort you have to put in with the screening process on that site, in addition to it being more costly, would result in a higher quality chance of finding someone special.
What I loved about eHarmony is that they carefully match you to only a few people that they believe have the highest chance for long-term compatibility. You are not inundated with a sprawling catalog of new faces every day.
Most of my matches were 85% or 90% matches, but Brian was popping up as a 100% match across every single category.
He simply sent me a "smile" through their messaging app and I responded reluctantly and slowly. Once we started messaging, we found a lot of surprises, like a shared value system and a shared sense of humor. We actually had a "quote off" of our favorite movie one-liners. That's when I think we both really started letting our guard down a little and enjoying talking to each other.
On our first date, he drove to my area of town and we met at the restaurant for a cocktail. I could have walked to the restaurant, but I drove my car up there so that, in case he turned out to be a psycho, he wouldn't know I lived nearby after the date. :)
That cocktail turned into a long dinner, then into him accompanying me to an art gallery showing, and then to talking on a veranda afterwards for hours.
I tried to keep things light and date a few other people after meeting him, but my heart kept coming back to him.
On our 3rd or 4th date, we had spent the day canoing. After the day on the water together, we were sitting and talking. I heard an almost audible voice in my heart say, "Diane, everything you've ever asked Me for in a man is sitting right in front of you."
I immediately started pouring tears. He was worried and said, "Are you okay?"
I refused to tell him what I had just heard. Afterall, we had just met. I kept it to myself for a while because it seemed so outlandish. But, it has proven to be absolutely true. I believe that was God's voice in my heart that day and it has been beautiful getting to know this man over the last year.
We have taken extraordinary trips together, we have laughed til we cried, we have held hands every day, we have had long talks, we take in nature together, we are a great team, he has protected me from harm, he has brought so much joy and hope into my life, and get this: I had to go into the hospital last year on IVs for nearly a week. Every single night, after he went to my place to take care of Cooper first, he would come back to the hospital and hold me in the hospital bed all night.
With the Senate race in full swing now, he has also been a wealth of help to me! He has worked for the State of Tennessee as a Biologist and now as an Environmental Consultant overseeing the budget of Tennessee Department of Energy & Conservation, so he knows ALL about the political landscape. He has been like a private tutor to me in preparing me for this race. THAT was divine timing!!!
I love him with all of my heart. I feel so grateful to be his girl. It is such a blessing to share in this with all of you whom we love so much! Thank you for your support and for being a special part of our journey.
D&B | 
