We grew up on opposite sides of the Huron river, a mile down the dirt road from each other, always moving within the same spaces, attending the same church and the same elementary school. In high school, our acquaintanceship grew into friendship as we spent time together in the same friend group from church. However, as time passed and we attended different colleges, our connection wore thin as we were resigned to a distant friendship, admiring each other from afar, nothing more. Ryan went to film school in Chicago and worked in Grand Teton National Park while Jackson finished college in Michigan and traveled to Africa to do mission work...






Then, a global pandemic slowed down our lives and returned us to the same hometown for a summer. We spent those warm, frustrating months battling ennui by making music and films together, spending time with our friend Fernando, and floating on the ever-constant river. Slowly and without warning, a longtime friendship began to metamorphose. Resisting his burgeoning feelings for Ryan, Jackson moved away in autumn to work and Ryan began her last few classes online from home. Unbeknownst to him, Ryan was laden with her own growing feelings for him. So, we sequestered our affections and prayed and wrestled with them, while continuing to correspond and spend time innocuously visiting one another...






But it was to no avail. On one crisp December evening, a casual conversation inexplicably turned into Jackson taking a chance and confessing his feelings to Ryan, who in turn revealed her own. We dedicated the next few weeks to prayer and seeking God’s will for our relationship. The day before New Year’s Eve we began officially courting. Things moved quickly as we spent almost every day with each other as winter gave birth to spring. In April, Jackson surprised Ryan and proposed at the bridge between their homes. Our wedding took place on a beautiful May afternoon and we began our lives together as one, looking back over the past year with awe and bewilderment, and a deep, deep gratitude to God for guiding us.