There's no short way to tell our story... 

     I could say, "We met over the internet",  but that leaves entirely too much to the imagination, not to mention it makes us sound a tad desperate. 

     I could say, "We've written over 2,000 letters to each other",  but that gives the impression that we knew each other for a very long time. 

     The truth is, both of those answers are correct yet seriously lacking in details, so I will simply begin at the beginning where all good stories should begin...

    Once upon a time, there was a princess who lived locked away in a tower, waiting for her prince to ride out of the forest on a beautiful white horse and rescue her...

     What!  That's not the right story?  Forgive me.  Allow me to start over...

    Once upon a time, there lived a young girl who asked God to bring a wonderful man to love her.  While she waited, she spent a lot of time in her room, which she had affectionately dubbed her "tower," jokingly calling herself Rapunzel.  In actuality, this girl enjoyed being "Rapunzel."  She knew, deep down in her heart, that she had a great big God who cared about her and would one day bring a man into her life who would love her for all time.  Until then, she chose to wait safely in her tower for that special man to find her.

    The girl was me, and the wonderful man who would find his way to my tower was Robert.  Whereas Rapunzel's prince braved a dense forest to find her, Robert braved the unknowns of an e-mail jungle to meet a girl he'd never seen.  And while Rapunzel's prince scaled the heights of the tower by climbing her golden hair, Robert traversed the wild, open plains of Oklahoma in his steady steed, Truckas...

    In early fall 2001 my mom undertook to sell some books online.  Not really a big deal until she sold several books to a fascinating woman named Donna who just happened to live in Colorado, my mom's dream destination.  Needless to say, the two struck up a conversation via e-mail.   My mom loved to talk about her children, mentioning me several times, and Donna loved to talk about her own children, including her "sort-of-adopted son" who lived in Texas.  She painted a word picture of this guy until I was convinced that she was making him up!  I mean, NO guy was as wonderful as she was making him out to be.

    Two months later, my dad received an e-mail from this "unreal" guy.  Robert politely and humbly asked for permission to "strike up a dialogue" with me, even including a letter of introduction from each of his parents.  Needless to say, I was impressed.  Note to every guy out there: if you want to make a good first impression, talk to The Dad first!  I know that sounds horribly old-fashioned and stuffy, but Robert is proof that it won't kill you : )

    After thinking and praying for what I thought was TOO long (actually, it was two and a half days), my dad finally e-mailed Robert and gave his permission.  I still laugh when I think back to those early days of our correspondence.  Our very first e-mails were obviously written by novices!  We quickly recovered from our nervousness and discussed everything including crocheting, our faith, raising children, you name it! If it existed, we discussed it!

    In February, Robert made the drive up to Missouri for the first time.  He came again a month later, then again in April, this time with his parents in tow.  He wanted their approval and blessing to pursue a relationship with this girl he'd discovered.

    After bringing his parents, Robert voiced his intentions to my dad.  He said quite plainly, "My intentions are to court and marry Crystal, in that order."  My dad asked Robert to wait for his blessing before pursuing a deeper relationship with me.  Robert agreed, and we continued e-mailing as friends who, admittedly, hoped to be more someday.

    Between December 15, 2001 and the beginning of October 2002, we had reached a grand total of 1,846 e-mails between the two of us.  My mom's favorite complaint was that her computer was SO slow because her hard drive was full of "Crystal and Robert's e-mails."  But neither one of us cared.  We were having too much fun just being friends and waiting to see what God would do in and through our friendship.

    Then a bomb was dropped.  I wouldn't even mention it except that it's impossible to explain the sandal if I don't explain the bomb first.  As Robert says, "it's part of our past;  we can't delete it."  It is part of what has made us who we are and brought us to where we're at today.

    My parents asked that we take a break and maintain "total radio silence" between us for an undetermined amount of time.  They, my dad especially, saw that I was confused about where the relationship should go.  They wanted me to have some undistracted time to draw close to God and seek His will and direction.

    I know what you're thinking; "How unfair!"  Yes and no. You see, as my father, he was the one responsible before God for protecting my heart and guiding me through life's tough decisions. This was the only way he knew to help me make the decision I would ultimately need to make if he gave Robert his blessing to pursue a deeper relationship.

Robert and I were both hurt by it, but we were determined to have a good attitude through it.  Hard as it was, we gave it to God, knowing that He, and ONLY He knew the end of the story. Robert assured me that, as soon as my dad gave permission to break the silence, he would still be there.

    For three weeks, my inbox sat empty.  Well, empty in a sense.  There was nothing coming from Robert, but I had met some new friends online who kept me company and encouraged me through those rough days.  I also spent alot of time thinking and praying about my future and my relationship with Robert.  In the end, I made a tough decision and sent an even tougher letter to Robert.  Basically, I told him I couldn't marry him. That I just felt it wasn't God's timing. One of my favorite quotes is from Josh Harris, "The right thing at the wrong time is the wrong thing." I had been so certain that this was the right thing, but deep in my heart I could hear God's still small voice whispering, "It is not MY time." I had to obey that voice. Of course, it did take me seven pages to tell Robert that...

    Life went on for both of us.  I grew; Robert grew.  I tried my best to forget; Robert gave it to God and kept going, despite the fact that this hadn't turned out the way he'd planned.