How I Met Your Father

When I was a little girl, I prayed that God would give me a husband and kids. Reading my old on-again-off-again journals from age 11 and forward attests to that fact. I was almost to the point of begging.

And being the romantic I was at even an early age, I also added to my prayers about how FUN it would be to have a unique meeting. None of this “meet at college, date 2 years, get married, wait 5 years, have babies” kinda stuff. BORING! (Well, to my little 14 year old mind anyway…)

All those dreams when out the window when my parents moved me out of state up to Northern Minnesota to the middle of nowhere when I was 16 years old. It’s a long story, but let’s just say. We were 45 minutes from the nearest gas station and I was NOT PLEASED. At that point, any man who wouldn’t beat me and who loved Jesus would do. I just wanted out.

It isn’t very surprising then, when in 1997, we got Internet for the first time and I stumbled on the then popular Internet Chatroom. I found a Christian chatroom, and it was my connection to the outside world.

Oh, and I also found a boy in that chatroom.

His screenname was Nintae. (short for Ninja and Taekwondo–both of which my sweet man were fascinated with at the time. He still likes Ninja movies… Me? Not-so-much.)

Anyway, we sparked up a conversation in the chatroom, and within a few weeks, fellow “chatters” were making jokes at us being an “item” and “attached by the hip” since we were always talking and there at the same time.

A month later, we sent pictures via snailmail.

Four months later, for some reason, my parents let a 21 year man I’d met on the Internet fly up to meet me. He actually stayed in my little brother’s bedroom for a week. Um, at this point, I will say I’m SUPER glad he wasn’t an ax murderer or anything. Looking back, how we handled it was NOT very safe.

But he was nothing but wonderful.

And I was nothing but smitten.

Three months later, He flew me down to NC where he lived over my Spring Break. (I was still in High School.)

The day after I graduated, we “met” in the middle, and I moved to NC. Four months later, around 15 months after we’d first chatted, we were married.

I laugh looking back. It was all so crazy. Probably REALLY stupid. I’d laugh insanely at my kids of they asked to do what I’d done back then, then would lock them in their room for a few months until they came to their senses.

But I love that my story shows God answering my childhood prayer. I got my handsome man, and our story was definitely not “normal.” I was married at 18, never had to live “alone” (my ultimate fear!) and had my first baby at 19 years old the following year. Everyone teased me for increasing the teenage pregnancy rate. I replied that it was okay, I had a license!

This October, Scott (aka Nintae) and I will celebrate our 15 year wedding anniversary. I am SUPER proud of that. We’ve had some rough years, have gone through a lot in both our marriage and our family. We’ve birthed 5 children, ushering one of them to Heaven after a misscarriage. We’ve seen one child go through the unthinkable, being born with half a year and spending almost a year in the hospital, finally having a heart transplant. We’ve fought, been frustrated at each other, and one time a few years ago, almost seperated for a while when things got tough.

But through it all, we’ve honored our commitment to each other, even though we made it as such a young age, when everyone was convinced we’d fail.

This is our story. It is unique and it is ours, and I’m so thankful to God for each day of it.

So what about you? What is YOUR story? Did you meet your spouse/significant other in a fun unique way? How has your beginning shaped your story?

Krista Phillips (49 Posts)

Krista Phillips writes inspirational romance with a dash of smiles. She believes a sprinkle of laughter (and a wee bit of chocolate) makes everything a little better! She blogs regularly about life as a wife, mother, follower of Jesus, and mother of a child with a rare congenital heart defect at www.kristaphillips.com. She is represented by Sarah Freese of WordServe Literary.