God is all a soul needs, yet sometimes He provides people into our lives that can refresh and rejuvenate us to follow Him to a greater degree. These relationships are blessings which should be cherished. In a dying world, godly relationships are one avenue of encouragement, edification, and love. I have had the privilege of having one of these relationships over the past four years.

In the summer of 2021, I began working at my church in Texas. The associate pastor hired me to mow the church's lawn, mop the floors, and perform different set ups for events. A little while after I was hired, the church called a new youth pastor whose name is Mitch Peltonen. Working three days a week gave me great exposure to the whole church staff, but particularly Mitch. I talked with him quite a bit and would often do different assignments with him. For the first few months that he was working at the church, his family was not with him. They were still in Louisiana, preparing to move to Texas. Since Mitch was not with his family at the time, I got to spend a lot of time with him. One of the days that I talked with him, he showed me pictures of his wife and daughter because they were about to move down to Texas. A subtle thought crossed my mind that day about his daughter that I have never shared with anyone. I had wondered if maybe that would be the girl that I would one day marry.

When they arrived to town, I got to meet them pretty quickly. Mitch introduced me to Mrs. Andi and Katie on a Sunday morning. After I spent some more time with them, I got more comfortable with them. Typically, I was one of the last ones to leave the church on Wednesday nights, so this gave me a lot of time to talk with them as a family. After one Wednesday night in particular, I sat down with Katie just to get to know her a little better. We talked about the Lord for a long time, and I eventually asked her if she wanted to do a Bible study with me. She was working through some things at the time, and I wanted to be a help to her. Thus began our friendship. For the next year, we spent a lot of time talking with one another. Our conversations were mainly fixed on the Lord and what He was doing in our lives. It was a blessing to get to talk with her consistently. For this year though, I did not see her as anything other than a friend. I enjoyed our friendship so much and loved her as a sister in Christ. Soon, God began to change my viewpoint.

One day I looked at her a little differently. After that happened, I recognized that this was the girl I was supposed to marry. During my quiet times with the Lord, God began to use Scripture to give me peace about this. Not long after, I had a conversation with about it, and she was on the same page. We began dating shortly after with the intent to get married. Being seniors in highschool and preparing to go to college, we did not know how this would happen but we walked forward knowing that God could provide a way if He wanted to do so.

God ended up directing us both to Pensacola Christ College. Getting to be with her on campus was a great experience. I had my best friend with me to enjoy the new challenges and joys of higher education. Slowly though, her health began to decline. A year passed and everything was all right. That summer I proposed to her. I realized that it might be a longer engagement, but I wanted to move forward with what I knew that the Lord was calling us to. The semester after our engagement, her health fell fast. She was in the hospital multiple times that semester and was eventually compelled to drop out of the school. We now faced a new season, which is our current season, and that is long distance. Over this past year, God has matured us greatly. It has been a joy to watch Him work in both of our lives separately but together.

Through our relationship, a theme has taken root: "Love is patient." Although we are very young, God has gifted us with moments of waiting on Him. This theme has reminded us time and time again that our plans cannot compare to God's. It is so easy to get distracted by what we wants that we often miss the good that He has for us. If we would be patient and wait for Him, He will provide everything we need in His timing. I am so thankful that God is allowing us to move forward with getting married. He will do wonderful things through us as long as we stay submitted to His Spirit.