Liza's Perspective

We met for the first time towards the end of October our freshman year after we got back from fall break. I remember crying to my parents at the end of fall break that I did not like Clemson, and I did want to go back because I still felt so lonely and out of place. The Lord’s timing is so perfect and so kind, and Michael coming into my life is such evidence of that. The first memory I have of Michael is when we went to Mallard Ball (not as each other's dates) and he got up on the bus microphone and sang Wagon Wheel in front of everyone. I barely knew who he was but I thought to myself that he was very confident and goofy and definitely my type. It’s funny because we still disagree on where we first officially met each other; he thought it was a tailgate, but I’m pretty sure it was after FCA. I do vividly remember the first time he came to my dorm to hang out with a group of friends. Again I thought, I’ve never met someone who is so confident and cares so little about other people’s approval (which is still my very favorite thing about Michael).

I realized very quickly he was unique from any person I’d ever met, but little did I know he’d soon become the most special person in my life. We became better friends in November, and had a group of friends that we started to hang out with a lot. Shoutout to two of our best friends that decided we should date and schemed to set us up. I remember Michael offered to drive me to a Friendsgiving, and I thought it was such a big deal that I was riding with him. Once we left for Thanksgiving break I was pretty much obsessed. After we got back from break, I tried to hang out with Michael whatever chance I got, whether it was going to study together or even driving to Columbia to watch his high school football team play in the State Championship. While we were in Columbia there was a little Christmas festival going on downtown, and I thought it would be hilarious to go tell Santa that I wanted a boyfriend for Christmas. It was all fun and games until Santa decided to call Michael over and let him know that he needed to ask me on a date (I was absolutely mortified as you can probably imagine). Thankfully, the Santa incident didn't scare him away and we went on our first date December 9th, 2021. The last day of our final exams he took me to Greenville to eat dinner and go ice skating which is my favorite.

While we were hanging out we’d also been planning a ski trip with some friends and decided to go stay with his aunt in Lake Tahoe at the beginning of January. Our parents probably thought we were crazy because we’d only known each other about a month and had been on one official date before we decided to fly across the country to go skiing together. I met Michaels parents in Greenville before I went home for Christmas break, and Michael came down to Myrtle Beach with a group of our friends to meet my parents before we went skiing (had to get the parental approval of course). We were only apart for about 10 days while we were home for Christmas, but I remember it felt like forever, and I could not wait to see him again. Before New Years, I went back to the upstate for a friend's birthday party, and I got to spend time with Michael too. I had known for a while now that I wanted to date Michael(hence the Santa incident), but this was when I realized Michael felt this too and we were on the same page. Our official conversation to be boyfriend and girlfriend happened on December 30, 2021 in a Ross parking lot after we were running errands. It wasn't glamorous, but it's a pretty good representation of the way we’re both straight shooters and just knew this was something serious.

Less than a week after we started dating, we flew to California together to go skiing! It was kind of crazy to be with someone nonstop for a week that I barely even knew a month before, but I always felt super comfortable around Michael. We did not necessarily have a honeymoon phase of dating, and we actually probably argued the most the first couple months of our relationship. Even though we had a lot to figure out in terms of communication and adjusting to our first college relationship, my feelings for Michael never wavered at all. I kept a diary of all my thoughts and most of the entries throughout January and February were like “the more I hang out with him, the more I am obsessed with him. But it drives me crazy that he takes so long to text me back and he isn't very good about words of affirmation.” Thinking about these silly arguments and how immature we once were makes me realize all the ways the Lord has grown us individually and together these past 3 years. Towards the end of March, we had a pretty big argument which ultimately was a turning point from just dating each other for fun to knowing our relationship was something we were willing to sacrifice for. Seeing the way Michael continued to care for me and put me first even through conflict assured me that this was different from any relationship I had been in before. I wrote in my diary on March 16, 2021 that I thought Michael might be the one. Even when we disagreed on things and he frustrated me, I just felt like I would never meet someone else quite like Michael.

We were long distance for that first summer we were dating, and it was the biggest blessing to our relationship. I was at a Young Life camp in Minnesota for 8 weeks, and Michael was working at Pine Cove in Westminster. We were both surrounded by incredible community and wise counsel which helped us to keep the Lord at the center of our relationship. It also challenged us to prioritize each other and communicate intentionally while we were not in the same place. To this day, some of my favorite moments are when we would talk on our off days and share all the ways the Lord had moved at camp that week. That summer solidified not only our emotional feelings, but also the ways the Lord had aligned our spiritual passions! After that summer, I knew Michael was the type of man I wanted to marry, and I began to really hope it would be him one day.

A lot of our friends thought it was weird when Michael and I would one day joke about getting married, and the next joke about breaking up. We had discussed that inevitably one or the other would happen so we might as well hold our relationship open handed and acknowledge those things. I think as we navigated new challenges and lived in apartment complexes next to each other sophomore year, it became clear it was more likely we would get married rather than break up (thankfully). It became a pretty common thing that Michael would make a comment about getting married or spending forever together, and I would just laugh it off as a joke.

However, I remember one time in my apartment in the beginning of 2024, we were sitting on the couch and he mentioned his plan for us to get married the next year. At first I just laughed and told him that was crazy like I always would, but then he got really quiet and his eyes started to tear up a little. He began to explain that he wasn't just joking and he knew for sure I was the one he wanted to marry once we finished college. I’ll always remember this moment because Michael isn't always the most emotional guy or the best about professing his thoughts, but that day he laid out all his feelings and hopes for our future together and asked me if I wanted that too. He basically was like “I know I want to marry you, so I need to know if you are serious about marrying me too.” When I really thought about his question, I also felt sure I wanted Michael to one day be my husband. I felt confident there is no one in the world who would be a better partner, friend, dad, or leader for our family.

Thinking about our relationship always brings to mind Ephesians 3:20 which says “Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us.” The Lord has already given us more than we could ever deserve through Christ’s saving work on the cross. The blessing of marriage is an additional gift that goes above and beyond, and I pray we remember that every day of our lives. Michael Long will always be my abundantly more, and I can't wait to celebrate our marriage on July 12!