A Nordstrom Love Story

My mom and dad's "meet-cute"

Last year, when sorting through memorabilia, my mom and I came across a letter she wrote on November 1, 1990.

Mom had been working at a Christian ministry serving high school students for the past four years. She sent this letter to her supporters to announce she was leaving her staff position to pursue her counseling degree. She detailed the struggles she witnessed in the lives of teenagers and her desire to support them further by pursuing this vocation. To pay for grad school, she started a job at Nordstrom. And then came my favorite line in the letter:

“For those of you who are worrying about my ‘marital status’… this should definitely increase my chances for meeting Mr. Wonderful!!! (Christian men do have to buy clothes you know.)”

I love this letter for so many reasons. I see my mom’s heart for serving others, which has only expanded since then. It reveals her thoughtfulness during an important time of personal and vocational discernment, which I can relate to as a young woman. Her faith in God’s plan for her is evident. And best of all, she had no idea He had already led her into the arms of Mr. Wonderful—literally.

My mom and dad’s love story began in the Men’s Sportswear Department at Nordstrom in the Stanford Shopping Center. It was Diana’s first day on the job and she was standing in a clothing aisle. Jeff was exchanging a sweater his friends had bought him for his birthday when he spotted Diana from a distance. He thought she was a woman he went to high school with so he walked up to her to say hi. They started talking and realized that Jeff was mistaken. However, they did share a connection—Jeff was in a Bible Study with Diana’s roommates!

Meanwhile, one of Diana’s best friends, Dixie, wanted to surprise her at work so she decided to sneak up and pretend to bump into her. When Jeff saw the impending collision, he reached over to Diana and pulled her out of the way. Diana jokes that after he touched her, he knew he wanted to marry her. That may be an exaggeration, but he was certainly smitten.

In the coming days, Jeff would come back to Nordstrom to exchange more clothes. Except when he didn’t see Diana, he would walk out of the store without completing his exchange. On the third trip, he finally did so with the help of a different salesperson and opted to call Diana’s home phone to ask her out.

In the letter we found, Mom wrote that she had “just started” working at Nordstrom, which means their meet-cute¹ had already occurred. She wrote the letter on November 1, and their first date was November 14. Exactly two years after that first date, they said “I do.”

I told Mom recently that every love story feels like a miracle. One day, you’re living your ordinary life, and suddenly, you encounter this person who will become immeasurably important to you. After many dates, sweet interactions, hard conversations, and countless small moments, you choose to make a life together. Of course, this is incredibly simplified, and you’d be hard-pressed to find someone who calls marriage “easy.” But the hopeless romantic in me can’t help but, well, romanticize.

Mom responded with a smile and said, “That’s how Rich and Scott described it!” She was referring to their friends’ performance at their wedding. During the reception, Rich and Scott floated through the crowd, dressed as angels God had sent to lead Diana and Jeff to each other. They played a video on the screen, acting out scenes from Diana and Jeff’s life in which the angels interceded to fulfill God’s plan for their relationship. It was hilarious and ridiculous. But it was also a beautiful reminder that God orchestrates our stories in ways we could never imagine ourselves.

Reading Mom’s letter so many years later, I was struck by how much she didn’t know when she wrote it. She had no idea that the job she took to pay for grad school would lead her to her future husband, whom she would build a family with. She didn’t understand the ripple effect this simple choice would have. When we are living our day-to-day lives, we don’t realize how significant small moments may turn out to be in the grand scheme of our stories. It’s only upon looking back that we start to see how God was weaving the small threads of our lives together to create a beautiful tapestry.

This doesn’t just happen with romantic relationships. Do you recall the moment you met your best friend? You probably thought you were just meeting another stranger—until you look back years later so grateful that you took that class or went to that party. And remember when you picked up a baseball glove, a microphone, or a paintbrush just because you were curious? Well, now you can’t imagine your life without that thing that makes you feel alive. These examples are proof that our lives are not just a series of disconnected moments. Rather, these ordinary moments can unfold into extraordinary stories.

I drive by Nordstrom often and frequent it from time to time when I need new shoes or an outfit. To most people, it’s a nice department store. But to me, it’s the beginning of a miracle.

Sometimes, when I drive by the store late at night and feel extra sentimental, I like to time travel. In my mind, I travel back to 1990, when a beautiful young woman was learning the ropes of a new job. And a young man walked through the doors with a sweater in tow, unaware that his life was about to change forever.

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1. If you don’t know what a meet-cute is, don’t worry, my parents didn’t either! It’s a term used in movies to describe a cute or funny first meeting between two people who eventually become a couple.