If you didn’t grow up in the Free Methodist Church and/or attend Spring Arbor University, our story may sound strange. The best way to explain it is that, somehow, Adam and Brittany are connected, either directly or indirectly, to about 80,000 people who grew up in the same setting, all around the nation and beyond. All of them Free Methodists. Some of them alum of Spring Arbor. Many of them, to this day, still friends – and part of an intricate network of people who, defying the limitations of geography and time, end up knowing and keeping track of each other for the rest of their lives. No, it’s not a cult. Just a big, sprawling, strange but wonderful family.

In 2021, Brittany was at a widow support group when she heard through “the cult” (see above) that Adam, too, had lost his spouse. Brittany reached out to Adam on Facebook, but not for the reason you might think. She wanted to connect Adam with a friend of hers who had lost her spouse as well.

While giving Cam a bath one Sunday evening, I (Brittany) grabbed my phone and began to mindlessly scroll social media. I ran across a video Adam posted of he and Lexi singing and thought “oh my goodness, I was supposed to message him months ago to connect him with my friend”. I wasn’t sure where he was at in the dating process, but I wanted to set him up. I was so excited! We have so many mutual friends and are all connected to the same people and I just knew this person was the perfect fit for him! I sent him a quick message to let him know I had plans for his life that I was sure were God ordained and whenever he got to a place where he was ready to hear my plan, I was ready to execute. I was so incredibly excited to reconnect after 14 years of not speaking and catch up on life and of course put my idea into motion. Within the hour we had sitters lined up to meet halfway for coffee in 2 days. I had no idea that Tuesday at Starbucks would be the day I saw the first glimpse of Jesus redeeming brokenness right before my very eyes in the most unexpected way.

On Tuesday, June 29, 2021, we found ourselves at the Starbucks in Plainwell, Michigan. The plan was simple: meet to talk about kids, loss, life, and mutual connections, and of course, Brittany’s plan to set me (Adam) up with a mutual friend. Both Britt and I had experienced serious tragedy in our lives – the kind of stuff you don’t think you’ll come back from. As we talked, our conversation drifted all over the map. We realized that we had a lot in common and that something beyond what either of us expected was happening, right then and there. A 45 minute connection over coffee escalated into a nearly 4 hour conversation, ended only by the need for us to get back to our homes and relieve the babysitters.

As we parted company and hopped on the freeway, Brittany headed north and Adam headed south. Both of us had the same independent yet uniting thought: we knew that we just met the person we were going to marry. Like, I (Brittany) thought I was insane. My husband had just died 6 months prior. Even in the midst of my deep grief, I knew. I knew I was going to marry Adam Davidson. I remember thinking, someone has to tell me I’m not crazy. I called one of our mutual friends that we grew up with and in the calmest voice she said, “I knew God would take both of your brokenness and do something more amazing than anyone could imagine with it, of course you and Adam are perfect for each other.”

I (Adam) also assumed I had lost my mind. But I was so sure. I knew I would marry Brittany. It wasn’t that I was twitterpated or desperate. We weren’t looking for each other at all. Our guard was down, and we assumed it was a typical meeting. Nope! We had a holy moment together where God reigned over our table and said “I want you two to meet each other again.” Neither of us are the kind of people who make rash decisions, so we both had some homework to do. Checking in with our counselors, close friends, wise people who knew us and love Jesus – all of these and more helped us navigate what this could all mean.

The months rolled on and our relationship grew. Our kids met, we met each other’s families, and good times ensued. Holes in our hearts were being filled, and God’s grace was evident in the whole situation, unexpected as it was – and still is.

Blending a family where every member has experienced some level of trauma and loss takes a lot of work, patience, intention, and more patience. God has brought us together, which includes our kids, our homes, our lives. This won’t be easy. We couldn’t do this without the encouragement and support of our community (you guys) and certainly not without the strength and mercy of Jesus.

God, by His grace, has brought us together in the most unexpected of ways. That’s the only way to explain it. It’s a mystery, a gift, a surprise… a redemption. The kind that Jesus Himself can do and is doing in our lives.

Today we’re inviting you to come and celebrate something with us that’s not about us. Yes, we’ll be all dressed up and eat some good food, and somebody’s gonna be taking pictures (smile!) but the central goal with our wedding ceremony is to say “look at how God has redeemed such brokenness!”

Ephesians 3:20-21 says that God is able to do immeasurably more than we could ever ask or imagine. Neither of us would have asked for the stuff we went through, yet neither of us could have imagined that it would’ve ended up here.