It was January of 2022, and I was leading a ministry at school and to be honest, I didn’t have a clue what I was doing. A friend of mine suggested I join the church ministry to get some ideas and maybe recruit a few more people for the school club. Once the club got going, I realized we needed more girls involved. That same friend mentioned a girl who’d be perfect for the ministry. Her name was Lilly Ryan. I invited her to help out with the school ministry and told her about our next meeting. On the day of the meeting, I couldn’t stop glancing at the stairs, waiting to see if Lilly would show up. I looked and looked, and still nothing. Five minutes after the meeting started, there she FINALLY was, coming up the stairs. Now wait.. I’m telling you, boy, it was like something straight out of a movie. She was glowing, and I mean GLOWING. Her eyes were big and bright, and even with that mask covering her face, I could tell she was SMILING ear to ear. We kept serving together and talking more and more at church. And, well, somewhere along the way, I realized I was starting to like her like, really like her.

My freshman year of college, I wanted to find or start a Christian community on campus. I had told my friend (& now maid of honor) about my idea, and she said, "I think a guy has already started that." So, a month or two later, I was in an outreach meeting with Living Hope College Ministry when someone in the meeting introduced me to Gannon, saying, "This is Gannon, and he goes to SKY (the community college) too!" After the meeting, Gannon personally introduced himself to me and asked if I would be interested in serving in the campus ministry he was leading. Of course, I was interested, and clearly, this was an answered prayer. But I had no idea what I was getting myself into (in the best way! ;)).

I wanted to ask Lilly out, but I knew I shouldn’t, not yet, anyway. I was leading the ministry, and the last thing I wanted was for us to get distracted. I kept telling myself, “Keep the main thing the main thing.” So I waited. And waited. Until the very last day of our club meeting.

That day, I asked Lilly if she could lead the meeting. Not because I was being lazy or anything, but because I needed time to pump myself up. I showed up five minutes late, not just because she was late to the first meeting (although that thought crossed my mind), but because I was standing in the bathroom, rehearsing the words I wanted to say.

I finally got around to asking her out, and she said yes. We started hanging out more and more, and I knew I wanted to date her. Somewhere in there, she casually mentioned I’d need to call her dad for his blessing before we could officially start dating. So I did it just that, I called her dad, braced myself for the interrogation, and made it through the full 20-minute conversation. By the end, I had his blessing.

The very next day, I planned to officially ask her to be my girlfriend. I was all set, but something just didn’t feel right before I left. I picked Lilly up, and as soon as she got in the car, I knew something was off. She wouldn’t even look at me. I put the car in reverse. “What’s wrong?” Pause. I put the car in drive. “What’s wrong?” Pause. I put the car in park. Alright, what’s wrong?” That’s when she finally spoke. She said the Lord was telling her to wait.

I was confused. I had just waited months to ask her out, and now the Lord was telling her to wait? Made no sense. But I figured, if the Lord was in this, I needed to leave it in His hands. That didn’t stop me from being hungry, though, so we still went to Chick-fil-A.

Let’s fast forward a bit, I ended up heading to Texas for a couple of months. Lilly and I kept in touch here and there, but nothing serious. On my way back to Kentucky, it was one of those perfect 80-degree days, and I had a 13-hour drive ahead of me. Somewhere in East Texas, I saw a truck with the name “Lilly” on it, spelled just like hers. It got me thinking about her again. By the time I hit Arkansas, I got a text from her. She wanted to know if we could meet that night or have a phone call. Funny thing, I hadn’t told her I was heading back that day.

I told her it’d have to be a phone call since I was on the road. Now, I’m the kind of guy who doesn’t need a bunch of small talk. If you need something, just spit it out. And that’s exactly what Lilly did. About two minutes into the call, she asked if I’d be interested in going on a date. I didn’t answer right away. Instead, I asked her a question (had to make her sweat a little). Once she answered, I said yes.

When I got back to Kentucky, we went on a date, got pizza, she whooped me in axe throwing, and we ended the night swinging on the playground.

At the start of 2022, I asked the Lord to show me three specific things. And during those moments when I thought He’d forgotten or failed, I now see that He was working the whole time. His plan was always better than mine, and looking back, I can see He never failed me, not once.

Well, Gannon, the gentleman that he is, decided to ask me on a date after we were done serving and asked me if I would like to go on a date once finals were over. I was secretly thrilled because I was waiting for this question the majority of the semester but could never tell if he 'liked' me too. We went on a several more dates, and I kept praying. As I kept praying, I knew the Lord was telling me to wait :/. I told Gannon one night when he came to pick me up for a date, and he, still the gentleman that he is, took me out to dinner. He didn't try to change my mind, but chose to be understanding through his sadness.

A couple months later, we went on another date. It was October and he told me, "I will probably be going to Texas for a few months." So, we continued our friendship at a distance, and Gannon went to Texas beginning of 2023.

In April, there was a week that Gannon was constantly on mind (which was unusual), so I prayed and prayed and prayed that week. So I finally decided "I'm going to just call him and ask if he would interested in going on a date. If he says no, then I'll move on, and if he says 'yes,' then we will see what happens." I asked if we could meet or call one night, and he said, "It will have to be a phone call because I am on my way back from Texas right now."

To keep it brief, I called, I asked, and then he asked me a follow-up question. After he approved of my response, he said..... yeah, I would be interested in going on a date. :)

Our first date when he came back from Texas consisted of Mellow Mushroom, axe throwing, and swinging at a playground. He called my dad for the second time to ask for permission (again), and we have endured through and rejoiced in dating since April 20, 2023.

Praise God from whom all blessings flow :,)