Our story began under the bright lights of the Illinois Masonic hospital. It was during a Code Blue––a patient experiencing a cardiac arrest, spurring everyone into action––that we first met. Jake, a pacemaker rep, was at the hospital to check on that patient after surgery, and Emily was the chaplain on call that afternoon. In the chaos, amidst the beeping monitors and rushed footsteps, our eyes locked, and the rest is history...

Just kidding! This true story happened several months into dating, and don’t worry, the patient ended up pulling through. Instead of the “meet-cute that could have been,” our real story started with a swipe.

After matching on Hinge, exchanging a few travel stories and discovering that our bucket lists were similar, we agreed to meet in person. It was a coffee date on a Friday afternoon in July on a beautiful Chicago day. Emily arrived exactly 7 min late (which Jake would come to learn is on time), bubbling with enthusiasm despite being thoroughly sleep deprived off a night shift at the hospital. She was instantly intrigued by Jake but slightly confused. She could tell he was sweet, smart, interesting... but he spent the entire date with his arms very tightly crossed. Naturally, she left thinking, “Okay, the conversation was great, but I don't think he's into me at all."

She was wrong.

Jake, blissfully ignorant of his stoic expression, thought the date went great and was already planning the next! Three days later they were on date number two, eating thai food and locked into a deep theological conversation.

The series of dates that followed stretched from days into weeks, and weeks into months. A true miracle, as Jake and Emily had separately developed long histories of stiff-arming love interests. But the compatibility was undeniable and the evidence of God’s leading too strong. Falling in love felt effortless, like getting to know an old friend. We had found each other at last. Now the rest truly is history.