In order to participate in the forum where I would eventually meet Scott, I had to create a username and decide on a picture for my profile. Uncharacteristically, I took these simple tasks seriously and spent some time thinking about my profile name. The guidelines recommended against your real name and advised caution in the use of personal photos. I did a mental run-through of many names—funny, silly, dramatic, sexy–but nothing fit quite right. My thoughts drifted to things people are tied to in life and how many are bound to money, work, relationships (things I had pursued in the past), and I considered what I would like to be tied to at this point. God came to mind at that moment and I thought of the rainbow; a symbol of God’s promise to never destroy the earth again by water. That train of thought traveled to the other promises of God and I realized that I wanted to be tied to something connected to Him. I created the username, “tiedtoarainbow”, and selected a rainbow picture for my profile.

After participating in the forum for several weeks, I noticed a regular user named “Benny” who was answering almost every question I posted. His profile pic was a shadowed black and white photo of one side of his face with a single vivid blue eye revealed. His picture and his words hinted at a depth that contrasted with his simple username, and I was intrigued.

Word was going around on the forum that the following week would be animal avatar week and the regular users were encouraged to change their profile picture to an animal. Benny chose the face of a camel, and I changed my photo to a panda. As we learned more about each other through our words in the forum, his name increasingly glared in contrast to his personality. I finally messaged him one day and asked if “Benny” was his real name. He responded that he had chosen that name as it sounded friendly and non-threatening. I laughed out loud when I read his response and replied that he needed a name that better reflected his personality. He continued to use the camel image as his profile pic for many months. After my move to Goshen, Scott gave me a stuffed camel with a water bag around his neck and I named him “Benny”.

Incredible how God orchestrated our meeting through that forum and the silly fun we had getting acquainted prior to our eventual face-to-face meeting.

Love blossomed between a camel and a rainbow in the Land of Goshen.

Only God.