MIDLOTHIAN, Texas — Back in 2000, retired Army staff sergeant Tim Cox spent three days at a Christian conference in Dallas, waiting to hear from God.
But it wasn’t until he got in his car to leave that the Lord finally spoke.
“The voice said, ‘go back and find her,” Tim said. “Go back and find her.’”
There were 10,000 people at the conference, but the woman Tim felt compelled to find was a 28-year-old single mom named Shelva Hearon.
Tim didn’t know Shelva and had never even talked to her. But when he found her, he got straight to the point.
“I don’t know why, but I did ask her, ‘are you married?’” he said.
“Who asks a lady, 'are they married?' on the first connection,” Shelva said.
Shelva wasn’t married, but she’d been praying about it and every time she asked God for a husband, she had one request.
“That he would love my children as if they were his own,” she said as a tear ran down her cheek. “And he gave me my heart’s desire.”
Shelva says her prayer was answered when Tim walked into her life.
After getting married, Tim moved to Texas and adopted Shelva’s daughters. They now live in Midlothian and say they owe it all to divine intervention.
“It was truly an act of God,” Tim said. “A miracle.”
But what’s most amazing about their marriage isn’t how it happened, but when it happened.
After that conference, Shelva went home to Plainview, where she lived at the time, and Tim returned to North Carolina, 1,600 miles away. They didn’t see each other again until they got married one month later.”
“One month,” Shelva said. “One month. And that’s all it took.”
They never went on a date and never met each other’s families before saying "I do."
They’ve been married 21 years.
They say it’s proof that if you’re looking for love, be patient. Sometimes it can show up in the most unexpected time and place.
So would they recommend marrying one month after meeting, especially for their daughters?
“You know, we’re going to have to sit down and talk about that,” Tim said.
“Oh yeah, there’s going to be some conversations,” Shelva laughed. “There’s gonna be some conversations. Yes sir.”
Obviously, the only way that’ll ever happen is a miracle.