Maribeth here! Our story begins all the way back in November 2013, when my family and I joined Plains Presbyterian Church in Zachary, LA. My brother TJ, my sister Emily, and I soon entered the “College & Career” Sunday school class, led by Ken & Cindy Phares, and two of our fellow students were a couple of best friends by the names of Forrest Powell and Casey Albritton.

For several years, these guys were simply fellow students and church members who we saw every Sunday. Or, at least, we saw Forrest every Sunday. Casey ended up going to college in north Louisiana, then to seminary in Jackson, Mississippi–though I did see him at VBS every summer. (Our paths usually crossed whenever I herded my energetic class of 3-year-olds past him and the sound system.)

By early 2017, however, Forrest and Emily were starting to gaze an extra moment longer into each other’s eyes during Sunday school–and by summer of 2018, they were engaged! On their wedding day in October of 2018, I served as Emily's maid of honor while Casey stood by Forrest as his best man. We joke now that we've already walked down the aisle once! I do remember that we shared a few conversations in between the rehearsal, signing Emily and Forrest's wedding license, and the actual ceremony. But while Casey now tells me that he really, really liked me by that point, I wasn't quite ready to make myself vulnerable for romance.

Fast forward a bit. Over the next couple of years, Casey and I both endured some emotional and spiritual upheaval; none of it was easy, but by the time we met again in June 2021, we were both very different (and more grounded!) people than we were at Emily and Forrest's wedding. That month, Plains Presbyterian Church hosted an ice cream social, its first big social event after the pandemic. Over the course of that very fun afternoon, Casey and I started talking…and kept talking for at least an hour. After catching up on everything we’d been up to over the last few years, we chatted about books, theologians, and stories. I was so impressed by his humility and friendliness. We didn’t stop talking until my dad told me it was time for us to go. As I walked back to our van, I thought, “Wow. That was amazing. I wonder…?”

I wondered for several months, haha. But we had been closely observed by several friends, including one who flat-out told Casey, “You really need to ask her out.” Although Casey was engrossed in a new job over the next few months, he didn’t forget that advice.

I was at work one dreary November morning when he called me and asked me if I would like to meet him for coffee that week. I stuttered a bit, trying to remember what my schedule looked like, finally remembered that Friday was free, and said “Yes, please!”

And thus began 6 months of coffee dates every Friday morning…which developed into me visiting his new church every other week or so…and an evening at the zoo right before Christmas where we agreed we were purposefully dating…which developed into long walks through Civil War battlefields…and family gatherings…and holding hands…and goodnight texts…the first “I love you” and the first “I love you, too”…watching in complete, slack-jawed amazement as God provided both a pastoral position for Casey and the loveliest little house in Mississippi…and finally, on May 13, an official engagement at Rosedown Plantation in St. Francisville.

Casey and I live in a constant state of gratitude, deep happiness, and disbelief these days. Our good, kind, and gracious Savior has been preparing and preserving us for this moment for so many years, and we can’t wait to do life together in our own little hobbit hole!