The very first interaction between her and I that had words was throwing baseball together while chit-chatting back and forth after lighthouse, getting to know each other a little bit. I remember thinking she was very easy to talk to, had an interest and talent for artistic things, and was surprisingly good at throwing a baseball haha! Then we shared a few carpool rides to church events, and again, to my surprise it was just as easy to talk and enjoy each other’s company as the first time. Over some more time, I also started to notice her commitment to her faith, the actions and hard lines she took because of being a follower. I felt admiration for her. It caused me to reflect on my choices and to set harder lines for my faith, which I am very thankful for.
To abbreviate some of the love story, next I went to a spring retreat hosted by my church MBC, and she was there as well. She was friendly and kind, so was I, and we spent a fair bit of time together on that retreat. I knew leaving that retreat that I officially had a BIG crush on her but waited for the Lord’s guidance on what to do about that. A couple months passed and finally, after some prayer for reassurance, spiritual growth and friends backing me up, I told her I that I liked her and wanted to get to know her more. “Smooth” /s.
We went on multiple dates for a little over a month and on June 13th 2025, I asked her to be my girlfriend after an important dinner date. We later that same night, in a very happy and sentimental moment on the drive home, told each other softly, we loved each other.
Jumping forward again, the time together taught us both a lot about what love is as defined by the Bible, and how Jesus’s character and grace is what’s needed to love each other properly. Special shoutout to my first relationship role model, Boaz from the book of Ruth, and showing me how a man honors, respects, and cares for a woman, especially one He plans to marry. The book of Ruth is influential on the date selected for this wedding as well. (Ruth 3:1 NLT)


My references of love come from Jesus’s life and teachings in general but, a specific verse is JOHN 3:16, showing love is sacrificial. Also 1 CORITHIANS 13, showing us love’s many characteristics and how it is the greatest and last forever. I encourage you to read these verses if you ever want guidance on love or to know how much God loves you.


And finally, the proposal! It was placed at a nice restaurant in Loudoun on our one year dating anniversary. Little did she know it also was going to be the day I asked her if she would marry me. (She had a pretty good intuition about it actually lol, BUT) It went well and beautifully and now we’re taking steps to become one in marriage, praise God! We thank all those that supported and counseled us, whether closely or from a far! We are very excited for the next chapter together!