Risten and I first met in 2019 during the Wells Basketball Tournament our sophomore year of high school. He was playing for Broaddus High School during the varsity championship game, and I was with my Nana and Pawpaw, Rhonda and Dick Tubbe, quote "watching Darren Cook coach." Little did I know that Nana was secretly wanting to introduce me to Risten for a while and finally decided to that day. So Risten, like the gentleman he is, shook my hand and introduced himself while I on the other hand, being the shy person that I am, shook his hand, said hi, and looked away. So, naturally he thought I hated him and we did not speak again for the rest of high school!

Unbeknownst to us, The Lord knew that we were supposed to be together, so he gave us another chance to get reacquainted in good, old-faithful Cotton Patch. I, of course, did everything to avoid him because I was shy, awkward, and still slightly embarrassed at how I introduced myself to him last time we met. Thankfully though, Risten did not seem to mind my shyness and decided to try and talk to me again, and as they say, the rest was history.

In all seriousness though, The Lord knew exactly what He was doing when He brought us together. We both had prayed ceaselessly for God to send us the person we were meant to be with, and I know, without a doubt, He did just that.

So, to sum up our story, if you have Jesus, basketball and old-faithful Cotton Patch in your life, everything is going to turn out just the way it was meant to.