Last summer Ben and I became good friends. I remember doing a lot of things with friends and him always being around - and I remember making the comment to one of my roommates that he was one of my favorite people - he made me laugh, he seemed to get along with everyone, and he was easy to be friends with - I didn't realize that those things meant that I had a crush on Ben Collins. Two of my best friends actually had called dibs on him and said that if you don't marry him, I will. I wasn't in a season of my life where I was looking for a relationship, so I didn't consider it much. The way our friend group worked, it seemed like we were hanging out almost every single day, and Ben and I seemed to be growing closer as friends. He would be over all the time to watch the bachelor, eat Japanese food and get in our hot tub - my parents loved him.


I finally had admitted to myself that Ben was very quickly becoming someone very special in my heart. I went back and forth with my friends and family on whether or not a relationship was something I needed, and at the same time being unsure whether feelings were reciprocated or not. I joke that we had our break up before we ever got together. In my head, Ben and I were getting coffee one evening for me to explain my feelings for him, and for me to sort of move on from any feelings I had for him -- I just knew I didn't want to jeopardize the friendship that we had. Apparently our break up had the opposite effect on Ben.


Two weeks later, he left my house after watching Family Feud and called me about 10 minutes later. He asked me if I wanted to get dinner with him sometime that week -- we did, and he even made a reservation (apparently that's a dead giveaway that it's a date -- something I was very unaware of). I just remember praying all day before dinner that I wouldn't do or say anything weird - which would have been very easy for me. Dinner went better than expected -- we talked for about 3 hours, and closed down the restaurant.


After our first date, we were with each other every day. I knew that I was very easily getting my heart involved and wrapped up in Ben. Because of COVID-19 (and Ben forgetting his car keys in San Antonio) he basically had moved into our guest room and we spent all of quarantine together. I remember there was one night where we were driving and we both admitted that we were, for lack of better words, nervous at how good things were going and that we weren't getting sick of each other. I think being stuck in quarantine together was the best thing that could have happened for us - we had no choice but to be ourselves and be real with each other.


I knew going into a relationship with Ben that we were very different people, but also very similar. We wanted the same things, valued the same things, and had been praying similar things prior to our relationship. I think it was about two months in that Ben and I began talking about the future - because it was all happening so easily, so naturally and it just felt right. The Lord really had opened all the right doors at the right time.


When I think of all that I have prayed for in a future husband, Ben fits that exactly. I have seen The Lord in a new way, have learned more about The Father's provision, faithfulness and redemption, and have learned more about myself because of our relationship.
Ben challenges me, pushes me, affirms me and loves me in a way that I have not ever known before - and I could not be more grateful. - Abby


Abby and I have known each other a couple of years now and just recently started this thing. I always thought she was really cute, funny, and someone who not only spoke the word of God but acted the way He intended us to. I had been praying fora girl who would push me and someone whose priority wouldn't be me but be her relationship with the Lord. Little did I know I was hanging out with her everyday. We as guys can be really really, and I can't emphasize this enough, really dumb. It took one of our mutual friends saying something to me for me to realize that Abby even liked me. She was everything I wanted and didn't know I needed. After maybe 48 hrs of talking/thinking, we went on our first official date. She would say it's when we broke up, but it was then that I realized there was something there. Fast forward a little bit and we were living together (separate rooms, I promise mom and dad). I made a joke to her saying that if we came out of quarantine still liking each other than this was meant to be. Well, once I went back to my place, aka moved out, I didn't want to spend another day without her. It didn't take long for me to start finding a ring and talk to her parents and then eventually ask her to marry me. Things couldn't have been more smooth and perfect. As the saying goes, when you know you know. I think what I'm going to say is when God knows, He'll make it happen. - Ben





HOW HE ASKED:

Ben and I had talked about getting married often, so we both knew that at some point we were going to. He had mentioned sometime next year - so my mind wasn’t focused on anything happening this year.

Everything sort of happened within two weeks.

Mid-June we all had to quarantine because I was exposed to someone who tested positive with COVID-19. My parents, Ben and I were all locked down in my house for a week, and after 10 days I went to go get tested for peace of mind. I got tested on a Sunday, came back negative, and spent the rest of that day enjoying normal life again. The next day my brother came back from a trip and tested positive for COVID-19. I hadn’t seen Ben between the time that my brother came home and the time that he tested positive, so, I had to quarantine from Ben all week. We were supposed to go on our family vacation to Florida that next week, so that got cancelled, I had to find someone to shoot a wedding for me — everything was crazy. The thought crossed my mind that MAYBE he was going to propose while we were at the beach, but I just thought I was reading too much into everything that he was doing (turns out I wasn’t - I was absolutely right about everything.) But, after our trip got cancelled, I didn’t even consider it anymore.

He convinced me to go with him to San Antonio the week we were supposed to be in Florida to get away from everything. He told me that on our way to San Antonio we would grab dinner in Austin and included that he was going to be wearing a button down and khaki shorts…coming straight from work to pick me up…to drive 4 and a half hours…so my mind had a minute of suspicion, but again, I just thought I was reading too much into it. He also included that he made a reservation, but again, it was a Friday night, so it made sense. (Side note: The importance of him making a reservation - when Ben and I went on our first date, I didn’t know it was a date. He made a reservation, so he said that was a dead giveaway that it was a date - news to me!) So, we drive to Austin, and everything was totally normal. Per his decision, we only listened to 90s Christian music the entire way down there. We got to Austin about 30 minutes before our reservation, so we were driving through the hills in a neighborhood that overlooks lake Travis. We were just cruising, so I figured we were wasting time. He tried to pull into this nature preserve area, but a huge “CLOSED DUE TO COVID-19” sign was plastered across it. So, we drove back down the hills - I was so oblivious to everything - I was on my phone most of the time not even really paying attention. All of a sudden he literally pulled off on the side of the road, parked, and said “okay get out, let’s take a picture!” I don’t think Ben has ever said that sentence to me. So, I did - and then as we were walking, he started talking - saying all the sweet things girls dream of hearing before they get engaged and before I knew it he was down on one knee. I don’t really remember anything he said, he doesn’t either, but I just know that he asked and I said YES!