Celeste & Brian: "God managed to turn all of my nevers into forevers!"

How did you meet? What was your first date like? Give us all the details!

Celeste and Brian 02After a few months on Christian Mingle, many smiles, dozens of emails and one meeting but nothing that would last, I was ready to give up. I knew that God wanted me married and I truly believed it was my season, but Christian Mingle didn’t seem to be too promising. As I sat browsing through the many profiles of gentlemen that matched my preferences for what seemed like the hundredth time, bstewart32 came into view. His profile thumbnail stood out to me, as it always did, because he was a very handsome man within my preferred age range, however he lived in Antioch, TN, which was a coincidence because seven years ago, I’d lived in Antioch and nothing was going to ever get me back!

As I prepared to look over him again, I stopped. It was time to take the limits off of God. I knew that it was possible for the man that God had for me to one day walk through the doors of my church, step into the fitness center where I worked or stand in the same aisle as me at the grocery store. All of those scenarios were possible, but I had to decide that for me, it was also possible that the man God had for me did not live in Charlotte, NC where I resided. I was ready to be married, so I was no longer willing to box God into my preferences.

I decided to find out more about this handsome 33-year-old man from Antioch. I clicked on his profile and was immediately impressed by how much he had written. I read every word: introduction, basic info and Q&A. By the time I finished reading, two things were glaringly obvious: this man loves God, and he is ready to be married! What wasn’t obvious to me, and what I wouldn’t find out until much later, is that every day for about a week leading up to this point, Brian was looking at cmonique06’s profile thinking, “This girl is way out of my league.” For about a week, Brian would read and look at my pictures without sending one smile or message, but praying that God would send him a woman like cmonique06. God heard him loud and clear because after seeing his profile, I, cmonique06, knew I couldn’t just send a “smile” and hope for the best. I truly wanted to get to know this man, so I sent him a message: “Hi there! I really appreciated what I saw of you in your profile and would love to get to know each other if that’s something you’re interested in. I hope you have a delightful day! Blessings! cm”

That message sparked the start of what would grow into be the best relationship either one of us had ever experienced. He emailed me back about an hour later and we messaged each other straight through the night and even into the next day! Our first date/meeting was at my Celeste and Brian 04best friend’s wedding reception two weeks after that first email. We had been talking so much that we were more excited than nervous to meet each other in person. Brian was the perfect gentleman, his smile was so big and sincere and everyone that I introduced him to absolutely adored him!

There’s another “first date” that’s important, though, because we both had children from a previous relationship and God has even made that blending process beautiful. We were careful and prayerful about when and how everyone would meet. The first time the children met, they took to each other right away and to this day, no one can tell that they’re not all blood brothers and sister. Blending a family comes with its challenges, but we truly are a family and the love and acceptance we feel between the six of us (Brian and I and our four children) is something that only God can do. He definitely has a way of confirming His will to His children and He’s done that for us every step of the way.

Describe the moment you knew it was true love!

I knew a few days before we met in person that Brian was the one, but laying eyes on him for the first time and spending the day with him at the reception couldn’t have been a stronger confirmation for us! To say that time stood still and sparks flew and it was love at first sight would be too dramatic, but what I can say is that at that first meeting, there’s no doubt that we knew. Brian was unlike anyone I’d ever been with, and like I told my pastor when he and Brian first met, this was someone that could teach me about spiritual warfare, pray with me about my biggest fears and teach me things I’ve never known from the Word of God … and yet at the same time, be my 110% homeboy! In addition to being an amazing man of God, Brian was my best friend and that friendship blossomed into a 3 ½ month relationship that ended on March 7, 2015 in marriage.

Celeste and Brian 01What advice would you give other Christian Mingle members?

I think what’s funny is that God managed to turn all of my “nevers” into “forevers!” I had so many things set that I would NEVER do (talk to a man from Nashville, move back to Tennessee, get married within six months of meeting, marry a man with more than one kid, etc.). While God never once had me  “lower my standards” in order to be with Brian, what I could constantly feel Him saying was to take the limits off of Him. For too long, I continued to overlook this handsome stranger in Antioch until one day, I stared at his profile thumbnail and felt like God popped me on the back of the head and said, “Hey, do you want to be married or not? Take the limits off!”

For me, I’d finally decided that while it was possible that God could connect me to my husband at church or at the supermarket or quite possibly even at the gym where I worked part-time, it was also quite possible that my husband did not live in my city and God could use another medium. The biggest thing is not to put God’s possibilities in a box of our expectations because what He chooses to do is usually unexpected, and 110% better than what we could ever imagine!

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