Since the day I met Ann Claire on June 10th, 2022, I have been captivated by her. First in friendship, next in dating, and then in engagement. In every season of knowing her, her love for the Good News of Jesus Christ was so apparent in the way she lived. I admired that deeply and was able to admire that as a friend. Friendship with Ann Claire grew as we worked side by side for Reformed Youth Ministries in the Colorado Rockies, Panama City Beach, Maryland, and Texas. Ann Claire was a blast to play ball with, cook with, encourage youth with, and everything in between. Simply put, I thought she was the most awesome person ever.

Circumstances had us continue as just friends all the way through summer 2023. But the Lord was growing us and creating an opportunity the whole time for us to eventually begin a dating relationship. The apostle Paul writes that the Lord works all things for the good of those who love Him and that verse rings true when I look back and see that the Lord had prepared us through more than a year of friendship to come together in a gospel-centered dating relationship. The Lord was so gracious to bless me with someone who loved the word of God and desired to build a foundation for love on God's word and the love He first showed us.

Dating ten hours away while I was in Auburn and she was in nursing school in Virginia was a beautiful trial that the Lord used to cultivate and grow intentionality in our love for each other. Since the very beginning of dating Ann Claire, I felt she was the woman I wanted to marry. Dating was a joy and every day I grew to admire her gracious heart and compassionate tendency to service more and more. Marrying Ann Claire is actually a dream come true. Even better it is the sovereign grace of the Lord in our lives come true.

On June 10, 2022, I am sitting in the Atlanta, GA airport surround by many new faces that I have just met. We all had just arrived for our first summer to work at RYM. As I seek to get to know all of those around me, I look to my right and see two boys standing side-by-side. I turn and introduce myself to them, it was Collins and his right-hand man Joseph. I didn't really think much about it and continued eating my lunch. But little did I know that was the day I had met my future husband.

Two days into working and being around Collins, I had a crush on him. Yes, I know you are thinking "woah girl that was fast", but there was something about him that drew me daily to him. It was his presence of joy and goofiness that drew me in. He would cause laughter constantly around us all, but he did it in a way that did not seek attention for himself, but to cause a heart of joy and laughter in us all. All I wanted was to be around him.

I praise the Lord that I grew up in a family where my Dad has shown his constant affection for me. I was thankful to know how a man should treat and love you, but I often doubted that there were young men who deeply loved the Lord and lived a life marked by the Spirit. But then, I met Collins. What is precious to me is that through working with him we were able to develop a friendship. And through this, Collins was defining the attributes of the man I wanted to marry. A man of humble-confidence, one who could communicate with anyone, someone who saw those who were left out and included them, someone who was slow to speak and quick to listen, one of immense compassion, someone who understood the grace of God, someone who had inexpressible joy, a man who I could trust, simply a man who radiated Christ. Collins was my definition- I fell in love with him from the start and dreamed that the Lord would somehow bring us together and if it wasn't Collins, I prayed to marry a man with his qualities.

Circumstances hindered us from even knowing that we liked each other and being able to date. But, throughout the year of being apart, the Lord continued to work. During our second summer at RYM was when our care and love for each other was further communicated. After our second summer of working at RYM, Collins and I began to date on September 19th, 2023. To say that Collins will be my husband is a dream and has been my dream ever since I was a little girl. What I mean by this is even though I did not know him, the Lord was creating in me a desire and attraction for a certain kind of man, and it was Collins.

What I can say is that our story is unique, but in reading our story, I want you to come away with this: The Lord is kind, and he intentionally hears the prayers of his children. When we pray, may we pray as though we have already received the blessings of the Father, because we have in Christ. I have never seen the Lord's kindness more than in him allowing me to date, be engaged to, and marry Collins. Collins you are my dream, may our life together be marked by love and may our love for another be a witness to the love of Christ. I love you.