At a Navigators beach retreat in 2021, I had noticed Will from afar playing Spikeball with a few friends and could tell he was instantly a friend to all and something about him deeply intrigued me. I knew he was someone I wanted to know more, and I was hoping that would be true throughout that weekend. Then, we just so happened to be in the same vicinity in a line to get ice cream and I knew this was my chance. We stood in that line for what seemed like a few minutes but was truly only at least an hour. It was after that time in the line that I knew he was someone I desired to know on a deeper level.

From that moment, we texted every single day and continued to get to know each other, and I continued to realize that he was someone my heart was being guided towards. I had always prayed for the man I married to be the one who was my first everything, and what a gift I have in him that I have experienced so many "firsts" with him. My first boyfriend, relationship, love, and everything in between. There is no greater joy in my life than to know that Will is the answer to so many of my prayers. I serve a God who is faithful, and Will is one of the clearest gifts of God's faithfulness and grace on my life.

I have been deeply thankful to watch Will in his every day and know him in such a deep way. I have watched him mourn for the souls of his lost friends as he has cried over how deeply he wants them to know Jesus, I have watched him face the challenge of this life with all his might and still remain unwaveringly patient, and I have been able to have the greatest gift of watching him experience deep joy in some of the most mundane moments of life.

To know I get to watch him and see the rest of our life moments together through his eyes is a gift I will only continue to thank our Jesus for everyday for the rest of my life. To my greatest gift in this life, let's get married :)

Now for the real story... let me set the stage:

It's Navigators Beach Retreat, St. Pete Beach, Saturday, October 2, 2021. UCF football had a game against Navy that day, I had my jersey on, yes, I remember everything. We're all out at the beach and I meet this girl.

I was wearing this bucket hat she asked about, and we had this really short encounter that I don't even think Bri remembers, but I noticed her, and something in me just really wanted to talk to her and be around her. Later that afternoon, UCF was losing, but I was okay with it. I was winning. I remembered Bri was on the worship team with Aiden, and Aiden had asked me to bring his computer, so I remember walking into the rehearsal to give that to him and being so excited to say hi to Bri.

After worship, we all went to this ice cream place called Larry's. I purposefully waited at the back of the line for the worship team to get there after they packed everything up. That way I could stand with Bri in line and talk to her. And that I did. We hit it off right there at Larry's. I remember joking about this one advertisement for crepes and how they looked like enchiladas. I was a fool (I probably still am), but I had so much fun talking to Bri that night.

Like every reasonable man, I looked at her Instagram. We followed each other and were DM'ing not long after. We had talked music a lot at beach retreat, so that was kind of where started, but it evolved into so much more. I thought Bri was so cool and so cute, and she just seemed like someone I could be best friends with. Of course, I wanted more than that. After a month of talking Justin Bieber's latest album, discussing the best places for fried pickles, and feeling more and more drawn to Bri, we went on our first date.

UCF had another game the day before Halloween, so I asked her if she wanted to go watch it at Miller's, and she agreed. Here's the kicker: I didn't watch any of the game at all. We talked through the whole thing. And that's saying a lot with how much I love UCF football. Two days later I asked her to be my girlfriend, only I didn't really ask her, but I won't go into that, I was weird. I just knew that was what I wanted.

One of the things I first noticed about Bri was her desire for deeper and just more fun conversation. She had a true way with words and with people, especially me as you can see. I thought she was beautiful both in how stinking cute she was and how much of Jesus' love for others I saw in her. I was so obsessed with her, I wanted every chance I could get to impress her, and I still find myself wanting to do that today.

We have both said that we were not actively looking to date someone, it just happened that way. And I think that's because our story is bigger than just us. It's a story of a God who loves us so much, cares to know us intimately, and gives us the gifts we need at the times we most need them. It's a story of a God who sent His Son into the world to have relationship with us, that we might have a better relationship with Him and with each other, despite the countless ways we are imperfect. And it's a story of a God who is perfecting both me and Bri, preparing us to serve each other in selflessness, and transforming the broken and hurting places of our lives into something glorious. He is the one who makes our story worth telling, because it's his story. It brings me joy when I look at Bri and think of the gift she is, the gift she will continue to be, and the mysterious yet beautiful work of perfecting each other that will begin when we marry each other. I am so ready to live my life with you Bri. I love you. Let's do this :)