Believe it or not our story begins long before either of us knew it. Dalton grew up across the street from my cousins in Lakeland, and as a little girl, I always thought he was so cute. Fast forward several years when I transferred to Union, I had no idea that he would become a part of my life. At the time, Dalton was actually my enrollment counselor, and I recognized him right away. I remembered exactly who he was, which is probably why I intentionally ignored his emails and texts when I was first coming in.

Those first few months at Union, I was settling in and enjoying my new school, while my younger sister, Olivia, kept trying to set me up with different guys. I told her over and over that I wasn’t interested, that there wasn’t a single guy at Union for me, and certainly not one I thought was cute enough. Well… I ended up eating those words. When basketball season began, I noticed Dalton sitting in the front row at every single game always in the same spot, dressed up. He definitely caught my eye. I told Olivia that I thought he was cute, and of course, she immediately started plotting behind the scenes. A few weeks later, I got a message from Dalton asking me to come by his office. Naturally, I assumed it was about school or scholarships since he worked at Union. The next day, I nervously walked in not knowing if this was going to be about academics or something I secretly hoped for. Turns out, he just wanted to talk to me and get to know me. That conversation was the start of everything. We hit it off right away, and before long, we were texting constantly, staying up way too late just talking about anything and everything. The following week, Dalton asked me out on our first date. We drove to Memphis for dinner and spent hours together, it was one of those nights you never want to end. I knew he was different the moment he prayed for our dinner. That had never happened to me before, and it spoke volumes about the kind of man he is. From there, everything fell into place.

Little did I know, Olivia had been working behind the scenes with Dalton’s coworker, friend, and (now) our wedding officiant, Joe Ball, who has known me since I was a little girl, to help nudge our story along. Safe to say, their plan worked.

I quickly realized Dalton was everything I had ever prayed for in a husband and more. He is a man of God and leads me so well, is intentional in everything he does, and loves people with such kindness and sincerity. He is full of joy and passion, competitive just like me, and he encourages me every single day to be the best version of myself. He loves sports as much as I do, makes me laugh endlessly, and has the most genuine heart. What I love most about Dalton is the way he pursues the Lord and the way he loves me. He makes me feel seen, valued, and cherished, and he constantly reminds me what it means to be loved unconditionally. I’ve known from the very beginning that he was the one, and now I can’t wait to spend the rest of my life with him.

Macey and I’s story began much earlier than I ever realized. Growing up, LJ and I spent most of our time hanging out with our neighbors across the street — Abby and Brianna, who we always just called “the girls.” Every now and then, they’d tell us, “Our cousins are coming down to visit!” We thought that meant more people to hang out with, and that’s when I first met the Lee family, including Macey.

As we got older, I started to drift away from those hangouts (mostly because I thought they were a little “weird” at the time), so I didn’t see the Lees nearly as much as LJ did. Little did I know that 14 years later, I’d be reintroduced to that same family in a completely new way.

Fast forward to my first summer working at Union. As I got settled into my new role, I realized two of my incoming student-athletes had very familiar last names, Olivia and Macey Lee. I didn’t interact with them much that summer or during the fall, but we knew of each other and followed one another on Instagram.

As the semester went on, I started going to basketball games with some of my work friends, including Joe Ball. After a few games, I couldn’t help but notice how talented Macey was on the court. I told Joe that I actually knew her and her family from way back when. From that moment, Joe wouldn’t let it go, he kept telling me he could see me dating a basketball player, especially Macey. I brushed it off at first, but deep down, I was definitely curious. I started asking around, learning more about who Macey was now, and the more I heard, the more boxes she checked. I began praying, asking the Lord if pursuing Macey was something He was leading me toward. Meanwhile, Joe kept showing up at my office, leaving notes that said “#4,” Macey’s basketball number, and reminding me to just reach out already.

Eventually, I worked up the courage to do it, but with a little twist. I reached out as the “Enrollment Counselor,” asking Macey to stop by my office under the assumption that there was an issue with her account. Really, I just wanted a chance to talk with her. When she walked in, we started talking like no time had passed at all, and I immediately knew she was special.

From that day forward, everything changed. I fell for Macey as I watched her shine: confident in school, resilient on the basketball court, and deeply intentional in her walk with the Lord. Early on, I knew she was the one. The peace the Lord has given me about Macey is something I can’t put into words; it’s a blessing I thank Him for every single day.