In Job 38:31, God asks Job if he can loosen the cords (belt) of Orion. At the risk of grossly oversimplifying the book, God's point to Job was this: I am sovereign over all of creation, and though you may not understand it, I have a good purpose in everything. It is fitting, then, that our first conversation happened to be over this verse (because of Kristen's tattoo of Orion). So much has happened to bring us together, and we cannot help but see God's hand in it all! We thank God for His sovereignty and for His good purposes in bringing us together.

We first met at a mutual friend's engagement (shoutout Luke and Grace Larson!) in September of 2023. Jonathan first noticed Kristen's tattoo of Orion, and as an astrophysics student, he could not help but ask about it! Interest was piqued from both parties, but alas, Jonathan did not "make a move" as Kristen hoped. We discovered we both worked for Cru, however, and Jonathan figured we would see each other again at Cru's annual winter conference. Kristen, however, had another idea.

As ministry workers supported by a team of giving and praying partners, we were both sending out monthly letters to update our partners on our ministry. Given that our work emails were [First name].[Last name]@cru.org, it was not hard for Kristen to find Jonathan's email, and a week after we met, tag it on to her mailing list. Thankfully, this was a sign Jonathan could not miss. He reached out to respond to Kristen, and the next few days were characterized by nearly continuous texting...

A few more unmissable signs from Kristen, and then we had our first "date"! Some potential issues we saw with pursuing each other were the geographic distance between us and the fact that Jonathan did not have a car. Nonetheless, we began having FaceTime calls once a week to mimic real dates in order to get to know each other in an intentional way.

An in-person date would not come for another month, but when the time came we met halfway in Fort Wayne, Indiana! Jonathan told Kristen that he would need to leave Fort Wayne by 3pm so he could get back to go to the Michigan State football game with his friends that evening, so when he stayed until 5pm, Kristen knew that was a good sign. We both drove home in mostly silence as we processed with the Lord the wonderful day we had just had and the fact that we were driving in opposite directions of the cause of our wonderful day.

Three weeks later, Kristen went to visit Jonathan in East Lansing because it was the only way they would get to see each other unless they waited another two months, and Kristen did not want to wait. As we were walking into a football watch party, Jonathan turned to Kristen with a panicked look and asked, "How do I introduce you?" followed by "I shouldn't have asked that; we don't have time for that conversation right now." Later that evening we had "that conversation," and Jonathan asked Kristen to be his girlfriend.

This whole time, Kristen had been committed to going to a medical school in Pittsburgh, and the two of us were (somewhat) patiently waiting to see where Jonathan would get accepted to grad school and what the Lord might be asking one of us to give up. At that point we did not fully know God's plan for us but we knew three things: we still wanted to pursue our intended careers, we did not want our relationship to end, and we might have to give one of those things up.

After a lotttt of prayer and conversations with trusted friends, Kristen decided that who she married was far more important than where she went to school or even what career she had. And she wanted to marry Jonathan. So when Jonathan did not get accepted to grad school in Pittsburgh, his best option for school was the University of Virginia, and Kristen reached out to Liberty University College of Osteopathic Medicine (who had offered her admission months prior, which she declined) and asked if there was anything they could do. They offered her a spot on the waitlist and guaranteed a seat as soon as one opened.

A seat opened up a month and a half before school started, so Kristen moved to Virginia to begin medical school in July. Jonathan followed a month later to start his PhD.

We love our story and are blessed to see the mountains that God moved in order to bring us together.

" Then Job answered the LORD and said: "I know that you can do all things, and that no purpose of yours can be thwarted." "

Job 42:1-2