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You never get a second chance to make a first impression, which means that we often put pressure on ourselves when we’re meeting someone for the first time that we consider important. And sometimes that person feels the exact same pressure about meeting you.
Today’s story is about one of those encounters, and everything that’s happened since.
Welcome to Stuff I Learned Yesterday, this is episode 712, “A Noodle Story.” I’m Darrell Darnell, my favorite pasta dish is my wife’s spaghetti, and I believe that if you aren’t learning, you aren’t living.
We shipped our son off to college in the fall of 2022, excited about the next stage of his life. We knew he’d grow in ways we couldn’t imagine, and we dreamed about all the experiences he’d have and the people he’d meet. He was a music major at the time, which meant he spent a lot of time on football fields and in concert halls, feeling the cheers of tens of thousands of people while he performed.
His musical journey took him to places like Minnesota and West Virginia, Greece and Italy. He got to perform alongside incredible musicians you’ve never heard of, and even shared a stage with Paul Shaffer. Incredible moments with incredible people, for sure.
But today’s story isn’t about any of those places or people. It starts on a practice field on the south side of the University of Oklahoma campus.
One fall day, three years ago, the marching band was getting ready for that week’s game. One of Colby’s friends from the trumpet section had a visitor, a friend from high school named Natalie. Natalie noticed Colby and told her friend she thought he was cute.
That was it. That was the whole moment. No fireworks, no dramatic meeting, just a girl on a practice field noticing a sweaty guy in gym shorts.
Over winter break, the two of them ended up in the same online chat, playing a game with that shared friend group. Group conversations turned into private conversations, which turned into a first date. That date went well, which led to another, and another, and so on. She still lived in her hometown then, about an hour and a half away, but they talked constantly and saw each other as often as they could.
And that brings us to the first meeting. Colby invited her to one of his spring concerts. We never miss a concert, which meant we would be meeting her for the first time. It meant she’d be meeting his parents and his sister, all at once, in one shot.
I think we were all a little nervous. And a little excited.
I let Colby know Natalie was welcome to sit with us so she wouldn’t have to sit alone. I also recognized that sitting with a room full of strangers who happen to be your maybe-boyfriend’s family might add pressure instead of taking it away, so I told him the choice was hers and we wouldn’t be offended either way. Honestly, if I’d been in her shoes, I would have politely declined without a second thought.
But not Natalie. She’s braver than I am. She said yes.
And that first impression was just as surprising as her answer. We showed up in jeans and casual clothes. I was in an untucked button up shirt, as always. Not Natalie. This was an orchestra concert, and she wanted to make a good first impression. She wore a long black dress, had her hair beautifully styled, and carried a single red rose to give Colby after the performance.
When we met her, she looked each of us in the eye, gave a warm smile, and shook our hands with a firm grip. As we walked into the concert hall, she glanced down at my shoes and pointed out that I was wearing Chuck Taylors. I told her I always wear Chuck Taylors. She poked her foot out from under that long black dress to show me hers.
She was wearing Chuck Taylors too.
Core memory unlocked. Instant connection made. She was my kind of people.
Over the next few months, we got to know her a little more. Every time we saw her, we laughed and made memories that stuck. That fall, I took Natalie and her brother to an OU football game. If you’ve ever been to a big sporting event like that, you know what the stands look like afterward, buried in trash left behind by fans who couldn’t be bothered. That’s not how we roll. Our family picks up our own trash and carries it out when we leave.
Without me saying a word, without me reaching for my own trash first, Natalie and her brother started gathering theirs up as we headed out.
Good parenting. Good character. And not just from Natalie, from her brother too. That told me a lot about both of them. My kind of people, again.
Eventually Natalie got a job in Norman, which let her and Colby see each other more often. It also meant we saw more of her too. She’s even visited us on her own, without Colby there. There were times he’d have to leave for work, and she’d just stay with us after he was gone. I never would have had the courage to do that at her age, hanging out with the family of someone I’d only just started dating.
Natalie is fun and smart, witty and thoughtful. She’s also a genuinely talented hair stylist. In a couple of weeks, she’s getting on a plane for the very first time to fly to New York City. She was chosen to do hair at New York Fashion Week. How cool is that?
Over the last three years, we’ve watched Colby and Natalie grow, both as individuals and as a couple. Over this past winter break, Colby told us he was planning to propose in the summer. In the spring, he visited her parents and asked for their blessing. He picked out a ring. He planned the day.
Getting engaged is hard. Guys want it to be a surprise, but you also have to make it romantic, figure out ring sizes, get a photographer there, and set up a memorable moment, all without tipping anyone off and ruining the surprise.
Colby pulled it off expertly. He arranged a double date with friends and set up a photo shoot at one of their favorite parks. Natalie told me later that the only clue she had was during one shot where he stood close behind her. She could feel his heart racing.
That’s because that particular pose had her back turned to him. He knew what came next. He got down on one knee and asked the question.
Of course, she said yes.
Since my kids were young, I’ve given them nicknames. Colby’s is Cold Burrito, or just Burrito. It started because “cold” sounds a little like the “Col” in Colby, and “burrito” riffs off the “by.” So Colby became Cold Burrito, and Cold Burrito became Burrito. For Addi, I’ve just always called her Pumpkin. It came out of nowhere one day and stuck.
Now that I have a new kid joining our family, I knew I needed a food related nickname for her too. After thinking on it, I landed on Noodle. Then I second guessed myself, because Noodle and Natalie both start with N, and neither Pumpkin nor Burrito matches the first letter of the names they belong to.
So I messaged her and asked if she had any ideas. She joked that her nickname should just be Burrito since she’s Mexican. A few days later she was visiting us, and I asked her again. She said, “I don’t know… Noodle?”
I hadn’t told her I was already leaning that direction. That settled it. I don’t know if you have a favorite noodle, but mine is Natalie.
Here’s what I learned.
We love Natalie. We can’t wait for the wedding next summer, and we can’t wait to watch the life she and Colby are going to build together. But this story isn’t really about a red rose or a pair of matching Chuck Taylors or a nickname that happened to work itself out. It’s about something I’ve been doing quietly for over twenty years, long before I ever knew her name.
In 1 Samuel 1:27, Hannah says, “For this child I prayed, and the Lord has granted me my petition that I made to him.” Hannah prayed for a child. I’ve done that too. But I’ve also prayed for something a little less obvious. For over twenty years, I’ve prayed for the children I have. And for almost as long, I’ve been praying for the children who would one day grow up and marry them.
I prayed for the young woman my son would meet before I ever knew her name. I prayed she’d have character, faith, and a good heart, long before she ever set foot on that practice field at OU. And I still pray, right now, today, for the young man my daughter will one day meet and marry. I don’t know his name yet. I don’t know where he’s growing up or what he looks like. But I know he’s out there, and I know he needs prayer just as much as she does.
It’s never too early to pray for the person your kids will marry. And if you’re one of the younger folks listening, it’s never too early to pray for the person you’ll one day marry either. Proverbs 31 describes a wife of noble character in detail, not because that kind of character shows up overnight, but because it’s built over years, through habits and choices most people never see. That’s the kind of person worth praying for, and it’s the kind of person worth becoming.
Because here’s the flip side of this. It’s not enough to just pray for the right person to show up for our kids. We have a responsibility to raise our own kids to be that kind of person for somebody else. We want them to be the kind of son or daughter that another family has been praying for without even knowing their name. Character isn’t something you can hand your kid on their wedding day. It’s built one dinner table conversation, one hard chore, one moment of picking up trash in a stadium at a time.
And if you’re young and dreaming about who you might marry someday, don’t just pray for them. Look in the mirror. Ask yourself if you’re becoming the kind of person that prayer is being answered for. Are your habits the kind that build trust? Is your character the kind that someone’s parents would be relieved to meet? You can’t control who you’ll meet or when you’ll meet them, but you can absolutely control who you’re becoming while you wait.
So pray for your kids’ future spouse today, even if that future spouse hasn’t been born yet, even if you can’t imagine what they’ll look like or where they’ll come from. And if you’re the one still waiting to meet your person, spend that waiting well. Build the character now that you hope to find in someone else later.
We are beyond grateful for Colby and Natalie, two people we prayed for separately for years before God ever wove their stories together on a practice field in Norman, Oklahoma. Natalie, we’ve loved watching you become part of this family, one concert, one football game, one Chuck Taylor at a time. You’re smart, you’re kind, you’re brave enough to sit with strangers in a concert hall, and apparently you’re my favorite kind of pasta too.
Noodle, we love you. Welcome to the family.
I’m Darrell Darnell, and this has been Stuff I Learned Yesterday.
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