The story of how Alli and I met is a little unorthodox compared to how most people meet. With two people living in two completely different areas and fighting completely different battles, the chances of us finding each other were slim. However, God ordained both of our steps to align.

The first time we met was in high school through mutual friends. According to Alli, we texted for about a week and then I got a girlfriend and completely stopped talking to her. If you ask me, I have absolutely no idea what she's talking about. I have learned that the wife is always right, so she must be right in this instance (And every other scenario); hence the phrase "Happy wife, happy life." All jokes aside, the way Alli and I came together was nothing short of God's plan.

In the beginning of 2024 I moved to Baldwin, Georgia because I believe that is where God wanted me to pursue my call to ministry. Alli was in Bremen which is about two and a half hours away. Knowing how far away we were one may ask, "How on earth did the two of you get together?" Praise God for social media! My first initial 'gesture' was liking her Instagram story because I was ABSOLUTELY taken away by her beauty. Nothing came from liking her story, but it definitely showed her that I was attracted to her. A little bit of time passed and I ended up direct messaging her about her story. Her story was a picture of a wall of a bunch of Funko Pops and out of desperation I made conversation. We soon began snapchatting each other but it was not anything crazy. Most of the time I would be working or at the gym while thinking 'When will she text me back?!' because she would not respond to me for hours at a time. Then after a few weeks of texting, something crazy happened.

Imagine a warm and rainy morning/afternoon between 10-12pm. I had made my way to the gym and Alli and I were texting, but she seemed a little more interested in talking to me. Before I knew it, she started to send me videos of her talking and opening up about things out of absolutely nowhere. BOY WAS I HAPPY! That night we spoke on the phone for the first time ever and I made her a promise. I promised her that no matter what happens, if we stop speaking to each other in two weeks or get into a relationship, I will always be there for her no matter the struggle. From that point on, we began to speak a lot more and we even started to Facetime and talk to each other on the phone every other night and during the day. Unfortunately, we did not always talk as much as I wanted to, but I was gonna take what I could get.

Now here is where it gets a little ugly. There were a couple times that I could think of where we made plans to hang out for the first time, but the plans painfully fell through. The first time we were supposed to hang out she didn't text me until about 8:30pm when I was already on my way back to Baldwin and we planned to see each other around lunch time. (Mind you I drove back to Carrollton for a chance to see her). In my mind, I thought that I would never hear from her again because she didn't text or respond to me all day long on the one day we were supposed to hang out. The second most memorable time we were supposed to hang out was when we planned for her to go to a Valentine's Day ball with me at my church. She knew three weeks in advance and told me that she would be there. The day before the Ball she told me she had a dinner in Marietta an hour before the Ball started. She insisted that she would be there. An hour into the Ball she did not text me or communicate with me about anything. The following day we ended up talking on the phone for a very long time and I intended to tell her that it be best for us to just be friends. We now see that didn't happen! I spoke with some of my good friends and mentors about this and they all told me to move on and stop entertaining her. In most cases, they would totally be right, but something in my spirit said otherwise.

If you are reading this I want you to understand that I felt the Holy Spirit speaking to me about how I needed to press in and keep pursuing. The closer we get to the Lord the more He speaks to us and the easier it is to hear from Him. Although this wedding is about us, it would not be possible without God and obedience to Him. He is the reason why Alli and Matthew are possible.

As I continued to pursue, we finally got to hang and I was completely in awe by her. We met in the parking deck in Carrollton and walked to one of her favorite places; Corner Cafe. Was it awkward and was I more nervous than ever? Absolutely! Would I trade it for the world? Nope. After our date, she took me to a secret spot where I brought my guitar and played and sang together. She's asked me where I first fell in love with her but I have never been able to pinpoint an exact moment. I knew that although this was the first time I met her, I knew that I was pretty close to falling deeply in love.

Without boring you of any more details between the two of us, we quickly fell in love and I practically begged her to be my girlfriend until she said yes. I spent, and am going to continue to spend, a crazy amount of money on gas and time to drive just to see her!

Throughout the time I have been with Alli and have grown to know her deeper, the thing that stands out to me the most is her zeal for the Lord. Seeing her worship the Lord, intentionally spend time with Him, and walk in her calling is the most admirable thing about her. Remember how I shared the times where we planned to hang out and it fell through? I completely understand why they fell through and I do not hold it against her whatsoever. In the book of 1 Corinthians, Paul references how love keeps no record of wrongs, so what gives me the right to hold something against her when I am imperfect myself? God granted me patience and grace in those times and I now know why He granted me them. True love is found with Christ in the center.

"Matthew, why are you wanting to get married so early? You should date for at least two years. You're gonna regret getting married so quickly. Slow down." While I can understand these opinions and questions, there's one thing that I can confidently respond with. When the Lord confirm, ordains, and guides, you do NOT let that go. The amount of confirmation I have had with Alli is nothing short of God. Sometimes God's way is different than the world way, but His way is ALWAYS so much sweeter.

If just a glimpse of our story can encourage you with something, let it be that when you put God first and seek Him out, He will always work everything out for good.

Romans 8:28 / Matthew 6:33