At the end of freshman year in April 2021, I met a guy named Ethan Hall. He was in the same first year choir as I was and we ended up meeting. Then I forgot about him for a few weeks. I had been slightly interested in him, but I was actually a lot more interested in someone else at the time, so when he asked me to lunch when we had only a few weeks left in school, I was a little startled. I really did not want to go to lunch with him, but I’m very glad I did. We seemed to hit it off at that meal and the next week and a half contained a series of texting and hanging out. It was an exciting time, it was a scary time, it was an awkward time. We were just figuring each other out for the first time.

We left for the summer and texted a lot. Over time we switched from every few days, to once a day, to all the time. And it was exciting. My favorite miscommunication we had over the summer was when I, like the blunt person that I am, said, “On a somewhat related but also not related at all note, I kind of like you a lot.”

He didn’t respond for ten minutes, so naturally, I was devastated. When he did respond, he said something along the lines of: “I could say the same about you. However…” He launched into a little text saying we barely knew each other and should be careful. I thought I had ruined the entire relationship forever. Later on, I found out that he thought everything was fine and that he was actually really excited that I said I liked him. It’s hilarious now. It definitely wasn’t then.

We started to date within a few weeks of getting back to school, despite the slight miscommunications. We went into dating with the full intention that our relationship would most likely lead to marriage, a stipulation I’m grateful we made. It made a lot of the guessing and avoidance of serious topics pretty much nonexistent in our relationship. That first semester we had a lot of discussions and some pretty big fights. Once again, we were figuring out one another and sometimes that was difficult for us both. But we made it through to the end of that semester with a pretty strong bond because of our discussions and arguments.

After we made it through the grueling three and half weeks of long distance over Christmas break, we came back very ready to see one another again. Ethan gave me a promise ring the day he came back and that was a pretty big moment. It was a physical declaration of where we said our relationship was heading all along, and I was very excited. Despite the exciting beginning, that semester was tough. A few weeks into school I started having terrible anxiety and panic attacks. It was a whole new dynamic for us to figure out. We were both extremely exhausted that semester and it took a lot out of us. But we grew incredibly close. I learned that he was my protector and that when I needed him, he would be there for me. We came out of our second semester and decided that we were going to get married. When I visited his family in July, He proposed to me on the shores of Lake Michigan.

So here we are. Ethan Hall is my best friend, my greatest encourager, my creative collaborator, my soon-to-be husband. I can’t believe that God has seen fit to place Ethan in my life, but He has. I can’t wait to see where the rest of our story takes us. I’m confident that if we closely follow after Christ, it can only get better from here.

In April of 2021 I was wrapping up my freshman year of college. It had been a crazy first year full of all kinds of emotions, good friendships, and, I'll admit, a bit of wife hunting.

I would never have admitted it to anyone then, but I was desperately looking for "the one," afraid I might never find her if I made the wrong move, or, worse yet, wondering if maybe she didn't exist. From a young age I remember being encouraged by my parents to be

intentionally praying for the woman that God might have me marry one day, and I did my best to do that.

Throughout the duration of freshman year,

I had met a few girls that I was interested in for a time, but either the girl in question never showed any signs of interest, or it felt wrong to me.

I remember one night I was sitting in my dorm room feeling rather miserable. A few weeks earlier I had to have a hard talk with a girl. I was mad at myself, seriously wondering if I had just messed up everything forever by ending what could have been. I finally came to the point where I told God that if he didn’t want me to get married, I would be happy and joyful following his plan. It was a big burden off of my shoulders.

The next morning was a cool spring day near the end of April. I was sitting in a giant lecture hall, woefully listening to my New Testament teacher explain covenant theology in a way that I felt didn’t do it justice at all. The teacher finished his lecture and asked if anyone had any questions. Someone in the back raised their hand and he called on them. A girl’s voice spoke up from the back and my head jerked up. It was the voice of a girl named Erin that I had met several weeks earlier. I didn’t know she was in the class! She had introduced herself to me at lunch after choir one day. All I remember thinking at that first introduction was “wow she talks fast,” “she was really… happy,” and, “I wish I could’ve seen the bottom half of her face” (we were under covid tyranny at the time).

In this particular moment that Erin was speaking to the teacher, I realized that we had spent an entire semester in the same class and hadn’t even known it. She was challenging the teacher a little bit on his treatment of that day’s topic in class. Obviously, she too was not thrilled with his bias. I wrote in my notebook margin, “I’ve got to get to know this girl.”

After class I chickened out and didn’t talk to her because I was an awkward college freshman, but, like any true man of love does, I texted her on Instagram instead. We ended up going out to lunch (which is a whole story in itself). We kept in touch over the entirety of that summer and began officially dating at the beginning of our sophomore year. And, as they say, the rest is history :)

I know that God placed us in each other’s lives and I am always amazed when I look back at His timing. When I finally gave my future over to God, he chose that exact time to bring “the one” into my life. I am excited for what the future holds as we seek to pursue the Lord together for the rest of our lives.