I met Aaron when I was a 7th grader. He was a Freshman in high school, and it really didn’t take long for me to start crushing.

We started talking over Facebook Messenger because Aaron had just created a Facebook account, so obviously I had to welcome him to the world of Facebook.

These conversations very quickly turned into long conversations which often involved brain teasers or a virtual game of hangman. Aaron’s ability to embrace being a dork while getting excited about the little things quickly became one of my favorite things. After some time, I learned that Aaron liked me, and I was SO excited. I may or may not have practiced writing “Anna Brubaker” long before we started dating.

I knew that I wasn’t ready to date (being a 7th grader) and I brought leadership into my life that spoke into me and encouraged me to wait and take a step back. Aaron received similar encouragement from mentorship in his life, and we eventually got to a point where we didn’t really pursue conversation with each other. (Mostly because we knew that we would just like each other more and it would be harder to not pursue it at that time.)

For the past 8 years, we went back and forth taking turns having feelings for the other, but continuing not to pursue relationship. One of my favorite ways that we spent time together through out this whole process was being on the youth group worship team together. I was learning how to play keyboard, and Aaron was one of the main people who taught me. We got to spend time together, and I got to better see his heart for Jesus through the way that he worships. I definitely had moments where I asked him an unnecessary question or I played dumb to get him to talk with me longer. I loved getting to spend time with him in this way.

Our relationship continued to be one where we saw each other only at church, or friend group gatherings. For multiple years, there was not a large amount of intentional conversation between the two of us, but we were both very aware of one another. I loved getting to watch Aaron grow and become more of who God created him to be, even if I was uncertain if I would ever play a significant role in his life.

Flash forward to November 2021, Aaron and I were on worship together and spent the service talking. At the end of the night, he asked me to coffee, and I internally freaked out while attempting to maintain an exterior that didn’t expose my thoughts. I immediately called my sister and my mom to freak out and express that I wasn’t sure how I felt about it. I was very thrown off guard and spent the couple of days before going to coffee trying to figure out what I wanted and how Aaron fit into that.

We had our first date, and though awkward, it honestly felt right. (For lack of a better cliche.) I quickly got excited about what this season would hold and I got excited to get to do life with Aaron Brubaker.

Throughout dating, it didn’t take long to fall in love. Aaron became my favorite person to talk to, my favorite person to hang out with, my favorite person to pursue Jesus with, all around my favorite person. It became clear very quickly that he was who I wanted to spend the rest of my life with. Now, I get to enter into marriage with my favorite person, and God’s love and faithfulness have never been so clear and evident. I can’t be anything but grateful.

I met Anna in my ninth grade year. The first conversation we had was me officially welcoming her to the church as she had just done Commitment Sunday. She then explained that she had been going to church at New City her whole life and that I was the new guy who had only been going there for a year.

Throughout the next two and a half years until summer after my junior year of high school I became increasingly attracted to her. That summer was great. Our friend groups were the same and we spent quite a bit of time with friends and therefore each other. All this culminated at summer camp where we had a solid hour conversation. We talked mostly about our futures and where we felt like God was leading us. I really liked her a lot after that.

As a kid under my parents roof, I wasn’t allowed to date in high school and Aaron Sybrant pointed out that I was leading her on at this point. In light of these things, I decided confront the elephant in the room. She asked me to sit with her during a church service with a minute before worship started. I told her no and that we shouldn’t spend any more time together because if we did we would like each other more and that I couldn’t pursue a relationship right now. Then I left immediately without letting her get a word in because I had to play piano for worship, nice. I felt real bad about that one for a long time.

After that we never really talked, just the passing hello, and occasional happy holiday text. We would have 5 minute conversations here and there, but nothing crazy. My attraction to her never really quit, but it never was the right time to pursue a relationship. After high school, I was a youth leader and it would be real weird to date a high schooler as a youth leader. Then Anna did the Forge internship at New City, part of which is to put your full focus on God and therefore not pursue a relationship. So for a solid 6 years it just wasn’t the right time.

About a year after Anna had completed the internship, in a prayerful moment I felt it was time to pursue a relationship with her. So after six months of talking with people in leadership over my life I asked her out. We picked up pretty much where we left off. Within two and a half months I had knocked my socks off fallen in love. The last time I was so caught off guard by something was when Johnny scared me from under a trampoline when I was jumping on it, I was maybe 10. The months since November have been just awesome, the best time of my life. There are so many reasons I’m excited be married to her, most exciting is getting to see what God will do in and through our lives as we pursue Him together.