It all began with my (Kelsey’s) best friend, Kelly Daigle. In 2020, Kelly casually mentioned a man named Steve, whom her sister-in-law (Mary Kate) worked with at Wheaton College. She spoke highly of him, and I shrugged it off, dismissing the idea of this "great guy" and continued on with my life.

Fast forward to September of 2023: Kelly called me one evening with a surprising update. She had reached out to her sister-in-law, Mary Kate, asking her to connect with Steve about potentially going out with me. After some gentle persuasion, I agreed to meet this intriguing stranger for coffee.

When Kelly sent me a link to Steve's staff profile on the Wheaton College website, my interest was piqued. I eagerly read his bio multiple times, realizing that we indeed had several shared interests. However, when I heard that Steve wanted to pray about meeting before giving a definite answer, I felt a twinge of skepticism. How many men actually take a moment to seek divine guidance before a first date?

A couple of weeks later, Kelly called me again. "I just got off the phone with Steve!!" she exclaimed. Steve had reached out to Kelly to inquire why we (Steve and Kelsey) might be a good match. In that moment, I realized that Steve was not only sincere but genuinely seeking the Lord’s direction, even before our paths had crossed.

Our first meeting was set for a rainy Saturday morning at Peets coffee shop. I felt a mix of excitement and nerves—what if we had no chemistry? What if the conversation fizzled out? When Steve walked into Peets, my worries immediately melted away from his warmth and kindness that radiated from his smile. After three hours of conversation, I knew that this could be the beginning of something special. I couldn’t help but feel excited about seeing Steve again. I walked back to my apartment with a huge smile on my face and called Kelly. I tried to hide the excitement in my voice, but I knew that this coffee date was different than previous dates I had been on.

Editorial note: This story refers to "The Kid." That is my nickname for Mary Kat, who is the little sister I never had, and love so much. Then there is Kelly, sister-in-law of The Kid. Without these two, you aren't reading this long-winded note and story, so keep that in mind.

Okay, so it turns out, if you've been single for awhile, friends (and the random, opinionated stranger) will often try to set you up with some other generic, single, Christian friend. This is of course done with the best of intentions, but can eventually lead to what leading Psychologists are not currently, but will eventually call 'Set Up Fatigue' and it affects millions of singles everyday.

Due to this fatigue, I was skeptical about this amazing, beautiful, intelligent, kind, Christian woman named Kelsey who apparently had been living about 20 minutes away from me the past 7 years. So, later on that evening, I wasn't very excited when I received some photos of Kelsey from The Kid. Until, that is, I opened them.

Suddenly, I saw this gorgeous woman with an afro, sitting at a table. Plus, there was a birthday cupcake in the photo, which meant she likely celebrates birthdays... which is obviously a good sign. Her smile seemed so genuinely kind, and without thinking, I raised my eyebrows and audibly uttered "Wooaah" and likely "ookaaay" in an honoring yet intrigued sort of way.

In the coming days, I let The Kid know that I was indeed interested, but needed to take some time to pray and think about it. The hesitation had nothing to do with Kelsey, but my own heart, and wanting to hear from the Lord about next steps.

A couple of weeks later, I called Kelly (that's Kelsey's best friend, need you to keep up, reader), and asked for more rationale as to why she thought Kelsey and I might be a good match. After our call, I felt more than enough peace to ask for Kelsey's phone number.

Kelsey's text messages exuded warmth, and over the next week before our coffee date, I found the skepticism wearing away, being slowly replaced with cautious optimism. That 3-hour date was so much fun, as we talked about family, interests, background, faith, and hilarious stories from our college years. I told Kelsey I was interested in meeting up again, which, if you've been paying attention... did happen.