As told by Ben...

When I was very little, my family and I went on a vacation. I don't remember much about this vacation, but there's a good chance it was filled with me wrestling my older (and admittedly stronger) brother, getting piggy-back rides from my Dad, and holding my mom's hand while she explained what sites we happen to be touring that day. The first site she explained wasn't exactly a site, and happened even before we left the airport. The "site" that caught my eye was a man, standing only about 30 feet from us in the terminal. This man had a white pillow with him, which he was carrying on his backpack in such a way that both sides of the pillow stuck out behind him. To my little brain, the pillow made this stranger appear to have white wings. Lo and behold, not only did this man have wings, but he had a shirt on that read "God's Army" on the front. After seeing this man, I tugged on my mom's leg and pointed him out. Indulging me, she said "Oh, yes, I see him, Ben! You know what? Maybe's he's an angel!" Something in my little mind was amazed...could this really be an angel? Well, let's see. Does he have wings? Check. Does he love God? Check (You can assume a lot from a shirt). Did my mom say he was an angel? Check. All these affirmations made my little, imaginative mind believe he was a truly an angel. Is it more than possible he was a sleep deprived Pastor coming back from a mission trip or even just a man who owned a pillow and a "God's Army" shirt? It's possible. But something about my young mind made me believe he was an angel. And you know what? A large part of me still agrees with my younger self.

On May 10th, 2015, the life group I helped lead had to meet at a house other than our usual location. Our usual meeting spot was at Andrew Godfrey's house (aka "The Cabin"), but Godfrey was fortunate enough to not be taking a Maymester, so he wasn't in Abilene during this part of May. Lucky enough, we had some very hospitable people in our life group and finding a place for life group that Sunday was no problem. Laura Perez kindly offered up her house (aka "The Nest"--naming your house is a big trend among college students if you haven't picked up on that). Also, through this story and many other stories, you'll pick up on the fact that we serve an amazing God, who, through his wisdom, somehow led this relationship together. He truly is behind all of this.

So, like any other Sunday, I headed over to life group, only difference being the location. I walk in and say hi to Laura. Efrain, another guy in our group, walks in shortly after. Laura tells us that she needs to go pick up someone to give them a ride to her house, so she leaves me and Efrain alone in her house. Efrain and I begin chatting at the counter and a couple minutes into chatting a girl with groceries and glasses comes floating in. I open up with the classic "Hi, we're in Laura's life group, so we're supposed to be here. We're not just some strangers in your house." I've always been a tad awkward. We exchange some pleasantries and she begins putting her groceries away. I carry on my conversation with Efrain and mention how I live in Washington, D.C. The floating-groceries girl, in her black shirt (she says it was green, but I thought it was black. Let's be honest though, she's probably right) turns to me and says "Oh, you're from D.C.? I'm from Virginia!" The next words out of my mouth would be the start of a long list of obstacles I had to overcome in order to make this black/green shirted girl my wife. "Wow! I'm actually from Virginia, too! I live about 30 minutes outside of D.C., actually", I said. I didn't know it at the time, but Amy, one of the proudest Virginians you'll ever meet (she even carried the Virginia flag at the Parade of Flags at ACU's opening chapel...twice) was taken aback by my words. You see, to Amy, if you live in Virginia, you say you're from Virginia. Not D.C. You be proud of Virginia. But to Amy, I did not do this. Somehow she was able to look past my mistake. The next interaction I had with Amy that day was when she took the life group weekly photo. I didn't know it at the time, but this would be the first of many photos she will take of me.

A couple of days later, I was still thinking about this proud Virginian. Wanting more time with her, I concocted a smooth (or not-so-smooth, you can be the judge) plan. I texted two of my friends and asked them if they would want to go bowling with me and a group of people, in order to get more time with Amy. Actually, I have the text.

"sooo if i text laura combs to see if her and her roommate amy and maybe some other people wanna go bowling wednesday night would y'all be down? :)"

Yes, I know what you're thinking. That is a smiley face at the end. Well, technically, it's an emoji. And while the text didn't explicitly say my intentions, the emoji did. The boys were on board.

Being the great guys that they are, they were more than happy to help me create an excuse to see Amy. I texted Laura (Amy's roommate and friend) if she wanted to get a group of people to go bowling with me and my two friends. Actually, I still have this text, too.

"Hey Laura! So me josh and selvin were thinking about getting some people to go bowling Wednesday night! Would you and like your roommate Amy want to come? And maybe Evan (our friend) or someone too!"

To me, I didn't care much if "like your roommate Amy", gave away my intention. I wanted to see her. Bowling was a go.

I can't tell you what I bowled that night. It probably wasn't great. I can't tell you exactly who all was there. I can't even say how long it lasted. But I can tell you that somehow (okay, probably not "somehow", I'm sure our friends had a lot to do with it) Amy and I ended up sitting at the same table. And we talked. We got to know each other. It wasn't one of those stay-up-all-night-and-pour-out-your-soul kind of talks (those would come later), but it was the most important conversation of my life. Little did I know this would be the first time learning about the person I would spend the rest of my life with. Little did I know this would be the first time I would laugh with the person I would laugh with forever. Little did I know this would be the first time I tried to impress the girl I would try to impress for the rest of my life. And little did I know this was the second time in my life being in the presence of an angel...but this time, she would be mine.

A&B

Wedding Day

2:30 PM

2:30 PM

Wedding

Reception