Around September of 2019, Isaiah came across a picture of me that one of my friends had posted on her snapchat story and he decided to add me. In November of 2019, he invited me to a church event which was the first time we had ever met in person. During my senior year of high school I had work release (I got out early) so one day after class I asked him if he wanted to meet up for lunch at Japan house. This was the day that he planned on asking me out on a “real date” but he got too nervous and ended up telling me that “we should do this again.” Later that night, he finally built up the courage to ask me to be his girlfriend (over text) to which I responded that I just wanted to remain friends. A few months later, I moved to Charleston for my first semester of college and we talked almost everyday. Most of the time we chatted about our days, usually about what crazy things he and his brother did at work that day or about how much he hated his school schedule. But one night things began to spin out of my control, and I felt like the only way out was to end my life. I FaceTimed the only person I knew would answer my call at 2am. That night I opened up to one of the people closest to my heart, one who I was most worried about sharing my struggles with - he embodied Christ and His love more than any person I had ever met in my entire life, so I was sure that he would see me as less than after I shed light on this deep, dark, hidden part of me that no one else knew. This was not the case though, instead of berating me or making me feel small, Isaiah simply started to preach the Gospel to me, he told me the story of God's unfailing love and His never ending Grace. He specifically highlighted the verse of Matthew 17:20 that states: “Truly I tell you, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there’ and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you.” This night, he showed me a small inkling of what his Faith was like because of what his God had shown him. He showed me a mustard seed, and it moved mountains in my life. Fast forward to the next year, I invited Isaiah to come with my best friend and I to Krispy Kreme where we held hands for the first time (we consider this to be our first “date”). A few days later, he asked me to be his girlfriend (for the second time). And the rest is history. 🫶🏻