A Seekerville Christmas Romance

(Posted with Permission ;) )

Once upon a time, there were a pair of authors (We'll call them Jan and Erica) who were friends. These two authors were invited to join the best-est group of bloggers in the known universe, and each one eagerly accepted. (Erica wasn't sure about Jan's feelings on the matter, but Erica had always had a secret longing to be in the group we'll now call "The Seekers." Dream-come-true moment for Erica!)

In the early days of January, 2018, as the newbies tried to navigate the new group, Jan made a passing comment on something she and Erica had joked about awhile before. "Do you still have a marriageable daughter? My son is struggling to meet a nice Christian young lady, and he asked if I knew anyone among my writer friends who might have a daughter his age who loved Jesus."

At the time, Erica's daughter, Heather, was coming out of her first serious relationship, and wasn't ready for that. But Erica tucked it away in the back of her mind for future reference. When Heather mentioned a few months later she might be ready to consider a new relationships, Erica (who is not a Jewish mama-matchmaker, but she could certainly play the part on TV) messaged Jan. "Hey, is your son still looking for a girl?"

Consternation. Son is in a relationship now. Shrug of shoulders from Heather. Guess it wasn't meant to be.

Fast forward a bit. Jan and Erica have been Seekers for several months, and Jan is headed for Minnesota to a retreat. Turns out, Son (Let's call him Benjamin) is no longer in the relationship  and might be interested in chatting with Heather via the wonders of The Internet.

All weekend at the retreat, where Heather is the cook and Jan and Erica are writing like their hair is on fire, Heather's phone pings and warbles as Benjamin and she chat. (No food got burnt, and all of it got on the table at the appointed time. But Heather's mind was definitely distracted.) 

Jan and Erica wait to see how things develop. Neither Benjamin nor Heather are teenagers, and they agree that they should just be friends for awhile, get to know one another slowly, and see where the Lord might be taking this. Jan and Erica approve of this approach.

Benjamin and Heather's texting and FB chatting turn to the occasional Skype convo, which turns into a scheduled Skype convo weekly...which turns into two times a week. Benjamin becomes dedicated to finishing his degree in the spring of 2019, and he and Heather schedule (Their now many) chats around his studies, his job, her job, and church activities.

Jan and Erica are trying to be cool, too. They rarely speak of the relationship with one another, since it isn't really their story to tell just yet. Though they do comment that their hearts are happy when the pair are chatting, because peals of laughter come from Benjamin and Heather's rooms when they are Skyping. 

Then, in February, Benjamin drives the almost TEN hours from the Black Hills to the wilds of Rochester, MN to meet Heather (and her parents) in person for the first time. Also to watch the Super Bowl, which got a bit comical, since Benjamin knows pretty much nothing about sports or football, though Erica was quite proud that when Benjamin asked Heather "What does second-and-ten mean?" Heather was able to instruct him. Since Erica is a rabid sports fan, she asked Benjamin what football team he rooted for, because he lives in what might be considered Denver Broncos territory, and as a born and raised Kansas City Chiefs fan, the Broncos are mortal enemies...to which Benjamin astutely replied, "I am a fan of whatever team I need to be." He ain't no dummy, that's for sure...

Heather is very happy (and so are her parents.) Benjamin is a very nice young man, and they enjoy one another's company that weekend. Benjamin attends church with Heather while he is in Rochester, and now all the old ladies at Heather's church are hanging over the back fences speculating. Benjamin survives the gauntlet of old ladies with questions. 

Here is proof...watching the Super Bowl together, February 2019. Don't they look pleased with one another?

Then comes a prodigiously brave move.

Benjamin and Heather make it official. Really official. They change their relationship status on Facebook to IN A RELATIONSHIP! 

Fast forward to May 2019. Plans were made and laid, and Heather ventured west on I-90 the nearly ten hours from Rochester MN to Rapid City, SD to celebrate the graduation of Benjamin from college. (She is on her way home now as of the writing of this super-long story-mail.) She was overjoyed to learn that the Drexler family has friends who own an ice cream shop, and that Benjamin's sister, Carrie, works there. Because for Heather, the answer to ice-cream is always YES. This is, of course, not the only reason she was heading to South Dakota, but it certainly didn't hurt. 

Proof that the sheepskin was earned and awarded. Congratulations to Benjamin!

From brief and periodic reports over the weekend, it appears that a good time was had by all, however Erica hasn't gotten the details downloaded from Heather just yet.

Plans were made for Benjamin to leave his beloved Black Hills and move to SE Minnesota to pursue post-graduate work and pursue Heather in earnest. :) He has been working and courting Heather quite well.

Though Jan misses Benjamin, she is happy for the young couple. Erica is remembering the words Jan shared with Benjamin when he first began chatting with Heather. {Paraphrasing here} "Mom, do you think she will want to live in the Black Hills, because I never want to leave here." to which Jan replied like the wise woman she is, "First, you're putting the cart before the horse. You just began texting one another, so it's early days. Second, if she is the one the Lord has for you, and you fall in love, you won't care where you live. You'll just want to be together.") 

See, I told you she was wise.

Heather and Benjamin hiking in the Black Hills this weekend. Again looking rather pleased with themselves.

Fast forward to Christmas morning. Benjamin and Heather disappeared for a few minutes, then came bouncing back into the room. Turns out, Benjamin had been proposing, and Heather had been busy saying yes!

Benjamin and Heather on Christmas morning with her brand new ring!

Benjamin and Heather in front of the Christmas tree at church.

All in all, it has been a wonderful journey, and we are praying they have a long and happy life together.

I can't help but wonder what would have happened if Jan and Erica hadn't been invited to join the lovely Seekerville ladies? 

The wedding date has been set, and now the adventure of wedding planning begins! :) In the words of the bride-to-be...SQUEE!