I can’t tell you exactly how it all occurred, or when we became interested in each other, but we did. I knew Heath from church. We were both involved in the music at church, so we would see each other pretty regularly at rehearsals. We would talk at rehearsal and at church on Sunday mornings and once in a while we would chat on social media. The more we talked, the more I liked him.
And then it happened.
On Valentine’s Day, 2016, Heath asked me for my phone number. He called me a couple days later and asked me out on a date. My first date since Jon had passed. My stomach did flip flops, but of course I said yes!
I was feeling ALL the feelings. Excited, nervous, unsure, happy...it was overwhelming. I tried not to get too far ahead of myself, but I wondered what God was up to. When I told my kids that I had a date, Jillian said, “Is Mr. Bailey going to be our new Dad?” I explained to her that it didn’t quite work that way - it takes time and many dates before deciding on a big commitment like that.
We got everything out in the open on that first date. I wanted Heath to know what he was getting into, and that I wasn’t dating just to date. And he made it clear that he felt the same way.Heath was so respectful of Jon and our memories, and understanding of my continued grief. He wasn’t threatened by the fact that I had been married before and was genuinely interested in my past. These are rare qualities in a man!
And after that first date, I knew.
We continued dating regularly, and the kids fell completely in love with Heath. It was such a joy to see the way he interacted with them and how much they loved having him around. He'd play video games and board games with them, watch movies, have nerf wars and just have fun with them.
Was it all easy? No. There were times that grief still showed up, even though I was incredibly happy and excited to be dating Heath. But he was steady, understanding, and patient through all of my mess.
After 7 months of dating, we got engaged on September 6th and got married on September 17th. We had a beautiful, small outdoor wedding at Heath's parents’ house and have been married for almost 8 ½ years. This picture is our first hug as a family.
On Valentine's Day, 9 years ago today, it all started, and I wouldn’t change any of it. The faithful prayers of a my little girl (and many others) were answered in Heath.
God is good, and I am so thankful for Heath. He is the love that I never saw coming.
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