Hope for the Heart
Meeting in Virtual World Leads to Marriage in Real World
Nowadays, meeting a future spouse through friendship websites often happens. Jhonny and Hema can attest to that. Now married, they first met in the virtual world.
"My name is Jhonny; I lives in Kebun Jeruk. I first met Hema by chatting on a friendship site. I did not expect we would become a couple because we were interested in developing many friends at that time. That was in 2009, when I was 33 years old."
"My name is Hema, I live in Pamulang. Actually, what I experienced is the same as Jhonny. We were both single and interested in making friends with many people, which we hoped to do through the friendship site. But Jhonny and I started communicating more intensely. From chatting, we began emailing one another and exchanging photos through Yahoo Messenger. Then, we arranged to meet."
Jhonny and Hema became serious about their relationship, and eventually decided to get married.
Rev. Melasari Sadeli believes Jhonny and Hema's relationship is unique, because they both were interested in developing their maturity. When they met, communication happened and they realized they had the same goal. When they finally met in person, it was an opportunity to cross-check the conversations they had had through their website chats.
Jhonny and Hema also asked for their parents' participation in their relationship, because they knew what to consider for a long-term relationship like marriage.
And whenever relationships are strained in either the virtual or real worlds, we must hold on to God's principles to work through the dilemma.
Jhonny and Hema are now committed to one another in holy matrimony, approved by God.
