As a hopeless romantic and avid rom-com watcher, I always dreamed of one day having a "meet-cute" with a boy and never looking back. Well, interactions aren't exactly labeled cute when you're in the 7th grade on a band trip, and to my surprise that's the moment the Lord decided I would meet my soul mate.

I've never been described as quiet, so I'm sure it's not shocking that I was loudly on a FaceTime call at breakfast one morning on my middle school band trip. What I wasn't expecting was for a cute blonde boy named Jacob Atkins to reach over me, grab my phone, and end the call. I remember looking at my best friend and saying "that boy just made an enemy out of me" little did I know how wrong I was!

Two years later I was in a high school girls small group that had just finished a study on Ruth. When the series ended, I wrote down a list in the back of my bible of traits I was looking for in a future husband, and began praying daily over the man God was preparing for me. It was just a couple weeks later when a friend introduced me to Jacob, and I instantly recognized the infamous boy who had ended my FaceTime call. To my surprise, we instantly hit it off and I was absolutely smitten. We quickly learned our houses were exactly one mile apart, and from then on spent the first two years of our relationship completely inseparable.

Our relationship shifted when Jacob graduated and left for Auburn, beginning our long-distance journey. It was difficult navigating senior year without him, but Jacob made trips home constantly to cheer me on at all of my high school "lasts." A year later I left for college in Tuscaloosa (I know, a house divided, but don't worry he loves to say Roll Tide!) We continued to grow in our faith, our love for each other, and a newfound love for 280 road-trips. While distance has been a challenge, it has made me appreciate every moment we do get to share together and so expectant for the day we don't have to say anymore goodbyes!

I recently found that bible from freshman year of high school and re-read my "dear future husband" list. It was no shock to me that I saw a clear picture of Jacob Atkins. The Lord's faithfulness is written all over mine and Jacob's love story, and I cannot wait to continue to share it for the rest of our lives. July 19th can't get here soon enough!

When I first saw Grace, I knew I needed to get to know her, but being a shy band kid, I knew I couldn't just walk up and talk to her. So, I had some mutual friends create a group chat, and we went out to eat at our favorite local Mexican restaurant, Casa Santiago. For the next four months, Grace and I would become close friends and my crush on her continued to grow. Grace's favorite thing in high school was Jack's iced coffee, so I would bring everyone in our friend group one in the mornings before school because I was too nervous to just bring her one. After a couple months I finally worked up the nerve to tell her how I felt, and we became inseparable. You could find us watching movies at our houses, going on long car rides just to listen to music, at church, or wherever my weekend track meet was. If either of us had a free moment, it was spent together.

I couldn't tell our story without telling you about how Grace helped lead me to the Lord. I have never met someone with such a caring heart and passion to help others over herself. I saw the Lord in Grace every single day then, and I still do now. The Lord used her greatly in my salvation story and I can't thank Him enough.

Moving to long distance was a challenging adjustment, but I don't regret a second of it. They say distance makes the heart grow fonder, and I agree. Distance made me really appreciate the time we had to spend together. I always looked forward to making the drive on 280 to Tuscaloosa. I know I'll look back fondly on my trips to see Grace when we're older. Between date parties, football games, or just driving down because she was having a bad week and needed a hug; I loved our time in T-town.

As we are both about to graduate and move into the real world, I realize even more how blessed I am to have Grace by my side. I have no know idea where I would be today without her, and I know there is no way I can make it through life without her. Forever can not come soon enough!