It was a hot summer afternoon in Grant Park. The year was 2018. I was loading in gear for the "Summer Night" hang that my college ministry, The Living Room ATL, was hosting. I had set up the sound system and, shortly after, music began to fill the room. '80s music -- my favorite. I turned to Matt Noblitt, the pastor of the Living Room, and asked who was in charge of the music. "Oh. That's our summer hire, Tega," he replied. He gestured over toward a girl leaning over a laptop.

The moment I saw her is engrained in my memory. *Here is where Dream Weaver by Gary Wright starts playing* She was wearing a color-blocked top, 90's jean shorts, and black Doc Martens. She was so beautiful. Naturally, I then stalked her Instagram and waited 3 months to DM her. She posted something on her story about Harry Potter and I replied asking her what Hogwarts House she was. *Thank you Ravenclaw for being our icebreaker* We stayed in touch for the next couple of years, becoming friends and getting to know each other. I knew that I liked her, but how do I let her know? The clearest answer: flirting over Instagram DMs.

My subtle flirtatious messages didn't seem to have much effect, so I gradually became more and more direct with my flirting -- eventually bluntly telling her that I thought she was one of the most beautiful women I had ever seen. However, Tega was so oblivious to any and all of my advances that she began to set me up with all of her friends. I took her blindness for disinterest, so I took my cue and stopped pursuing her.

Fast forward to 2020. I move out of my parents' house and move in with my friend, Caleb Morgan. Little did I know, but Caleb and Tega were actually close friends. Caleb and I lived in Apartment 911 and pretty much had a swamp in our backyard. *Tega is a big fan of swamps* Over 2020, Tega regularly visited The 911 and our friendship seemed to resume right where we left off. Our lives slowly began to weave together. Tega began working closely with my best friend, Grant, and our circles started to merge. Then tragedy struck.

Grant and Mary Drayton Godbee, my best friend and his wife, passed away in a tragic accident. Though it was the hardest situation I've ever gone through, the Lord remained faithful and reminded me of His Goodness. Without Jesus, I wouldn't have made it through that season. Through pain, I was stretched and my faith grew. With my eyes focused on Jesus and my heart trudging through grief, romance became an afterthought.

2 months later, mourning turned into celebration as our close friends, Janie and Josh Stewart got married. As the festivities commenced, a familiar girl wearing a green dress caught my attention. We caught up that night and I felt a prompting in my spirit to tell Tega how I felt about her. We both found that we shared the same sentiments and I did what any man would do.

I went to Mexico.

It was really an unfortunate timing with my vacation, but I left Tega at home for a week to go crazy thinking about what we had talked about. I found WI-FI to send her an Instagram DM telling her that I was still thinking of her and would love to continue the conversation once I returned home. After I returned State-side (and after a week of pondering), I asked Tega to be my girlfriend. And thus began our journey together.

We've had a lot of learning and growing together over the past 3 years. It hasn't been the easiest road, but it really has been the best. I've found more and more things that I love about Tega and I've grown less and less interested in living life without her. Now here's where you come in. We are so excited and so honored to invite you into this chapter of our story, so buckle up! It's going to be a party!

Woo!