Chris was returning to the Sacramento area after, as his Bumble profile stated, "a long absence." Holly was just really sick of dating.

They matched on Bumble and Chris reached out to Holly because of the picture of her backpacking with Torunn - the "one thing (he) liked about (her)."

They talked for a bit: they both loved Jesus, they both had read Dallas Willard, one was a dispensationalist and the other one could tolerate that - so they planned a date...

At Chris's work place...

After it had half burned down...

All for the story...

But, things went really well. Coffee turned into lunch, which turned into planning another date. God was on the move.

Barriers broke down, lots of phone calls, lots of shared interests, similar directions in life.

Both Chris and Holly decided to learn more: about each other, about what life looked like as a shared experience. This meant doing a no-reservation camping trip to Union Valley Reservoir, Chris partaking in a Carlson trip to Bodega Bay, and countless small moments of figuring out whether a date was going to be in West Sac, Sac, or Folsom. And just how many sports shows Holly could tolerate.

We continue to find ways to expand our relationship in the context of community: being with others and offering ourselves and receiving what God has for us to learn from the world.

It's challenging to write about how good things are today without feeling like it invalidates all the pain we've experienced and caused in the past. But all of those things - our past choices, relationships, experiences - are essential parts of who we are and how we got here.

So after a year of learning how to life together we are getting married, and will continue learning and learning and learning.