Many people believe in fate— the belief that events in life are destined to happen. The story of Darren and me may seem like fate, that our paths were meant to cross, and at surface level, this seems true, but our meeting was driven by something much more powerful.

It all started with a message on just another dating app. They all seemed the same, starting out promising only to fizzle out within months or even weeks. Things were getting monotonous until a new message came through. Darren sent a simple little ‘hey’ emoji. And from there, it seemed nothing would ever be the same again.

We had only been talking for about a week when we decided to go out on our first date. It was nothing fancy, just pizza and wings (very on brand), bowling, a failed attempt at mini golf, and several hours spent back in the parking lot of the restaurant conversing. We talked small things, big secrets, and everything in between. And the best part was that none of it felt forced, the natural comfort was there from the get go.

Our second date was just two days later. We spent the night eating spaghetti casserole, watching The Scooby Doo movie (it was Halloween after all), and again, talking all things life. Things were officially starting to feel very different from the norm of online dating, and yet, it still seemed way too early to get my hopes up. That is until less than two weeks later, after meeting my family for the first time, Darren asked me to be his girlfriend. This was what I thought would be one of the easiest yeses of my life.

Our season of dating seemed to be going by in a whirlwind. It truly felt like two old friends who were reconnecting. We continued to learn more about each other and grow individually and as a couple. We were quickly tailoring our decisions with each other in mind and felt like maybe this was it.

On October 14, 2023, Darren schemed up a plan. He used the ruse of “mistakenly” getting lost on our way to a new Italian restaurant only to find ourselves at a quaint little walking park. He suggested since we were there, we might as well check it out. (It was at this point that I was all but certain of what was really going on.) As Darren nervously charged ahead leaving me further back on the trail, navigating muddy grasses, he abruptly decided to turn us around in the opposite direction. As we did, he was suddenly down on one knee. The ease of this yes blew the previous one out of the water!

Our story may seem coincidental. It may seem like fate tangled us up in each other’s web. But I can say with certainty that fate had no part in our meeting. Our story started a long time ago, back in 1998, when God brought Darren into the world. (I had been waiting for 2 years already. Haha!) He carefully crafted our lives, steered us in our own directions, and as we each learned to follow Him, He brought us to each other. Anything or anyone that I could have imagined, didn’t stand a chance to the journey that lead me to where I am now, preparing to marry the man of my dreams, the man God sent to me.