Zach’s Side:
Before our first date, I was so nervous. At work, I was counting down the time, staring at the clock every minute. When time finally came, I bolted out of there and started heading to The Gulch. I told her 6:45 but got there 20 minutes early. I was so excited I couldn’t even wait to go inside. I waited in there for her, checking the door constantly and anxiously shaking my leg. Suddenly, I see her walk in, and my eyes light up. She was even more beautiful than I thought was possible. The rest of the night flew by, talking about anything and everything. After we said goodbye and set up our next date, I got in my car and immediately started smiling. She was so unbelievably genuine. I felt like I’ve already known her for my whole life.

Throughout our relationship, Olivia has redefined so many things for me. She has redefined time in just how quality it can be. Everyone feels guilty for having a lazy day and not doing anything. But, every second I spend with Olivia feels like the most important part of my day. Sitting on the couch and talking for hours feels like the best thing I can do with my day. She makes every second feel so valuable.

Olivia has redefined love for me. I always viewed love as a one-sided thing. As long as I loved them, it didn’t matter if they loved me. I got used to always having too much love to give…until I met her. Olivia not only receives my love so well, but provides it in every way. Her affection seems limitless, and it shows not just with me but with her friends and family. I have received the best gift God could give me. I truly found the most compassionate and selfless woman in the world.

Throughout my life, I have been a Christian. I have been on a journey to strengthen my relationship with God and become a more devout Christian. Olivia has managed to bring me into her intimacy with God and walk me down a path where I’m growing in my faith every day. My faith is the most important thing to me, and it’s so relieving to have found my best friend in Christ. She worships the lord so well and treats her time with Him as devotion, not a chore. She loves Him and brings Him into every aspect of her life. I cannot wait to walk through life together.

Olivia is truly the only one for me. We cry, laugh, and argue together. In every moment with her, I wouldn’t want to be doing anything else. My love for her transcends emotions and feelings. It’s an eternal devotion for her. We so effortlessly sacrifice for each other and communicate to where we never have to guess what one another is thinking. Marrying Olivia will be the easiest decision of my life, and I can’t wait for the day!

Olivia’s side:
My side starts off a little before we actually even met one another. I’d just prayerfully moved to Nashville as a travel nurse , with an immense amount of peace and an overwhelming amount of anticipation for what God had in store for me here. I was hopeful, yet cautious, trying not to let my expectations get the best of me, but I had a deep assurance that God had so many gifts in store in this new chapter of my life.

Fast forward a few months into the new move, and a dear friend gave me a nudge to try the world of online dating, which I swore I’d never do. I told her I’d think about it, but my thinking about it was really just a no, not gonna happen. And then I stumbled upon a blog post that deeply convicted me. The writer said “I’ve talked with so many Christians over the years who are scared to try online dating or even ones who assume God can’t work through dating apps. Online dating doesn’t cut God out of the equation. The God over all circumstances is the same God over online dating. If we say God isn’t in online dating, our view of God is far too small” I called a friend that night, and we made my dating profile.

I had prayed that God would only give me eyes for whoever He had in store for me, that I didn’t want to go through series of hurts, or hurt anyone else in the process. And after being on the app for several days, I met Zach. We exchanged a few short messages and He so kindly set up a date to meet in person.

The night of our first date, I was flooded with so many nerves. I showed up 30 minutes early, and waited in my car for what felt like forever. This was way out of my comfort zone, something I never imagined myself doing, yet here I was. I walked into the restaurant and that’s when I met Zach. Our first date included lots of nervous laughs but also such a depth of quality conversations and intentionality. I drove home that night cautiously optimistic.

Zach continued to show me the beauty of his heart. As we spent more time together, it was as if God was showing me all the desires I’d stored up in my heart and hidden for quite some time, unfolding before my eyes. A part of me wasn’t ready to believe that this could be true, but I couldn’t deny the tangible amount of peace I had when I was in Zach’s presence. When I finally accepted the reality that God was giving me such a beautiful gift that I had longed and prayed for, then came all the enjoyment in actually enjoying this gift. The gift of Zach, and learning more about who he was and quickly falling in love with him.

Zach is everything I hoped and prayed for and so much more. I saw his sincere and genuine heart for the Lord and his desire to want to grow in his faith first. Zach is someone who has an interest in knowing the depths of anyone he’s close to. He isn’t interested in the surface, but makes a tremendous effort in truly getting to know someone and he did that with me. One month of knowing Zach felt like a year of knowing him.

There’s an ease that Zach’s presence brings. He’s gentle and kind, yet walks in a humble confidence of who he is in Christ. For the longest time I couldn’t quite grasp what it was about being with Zach that brought an overwhelming amount of peace and security but then it finally became so apparent to me. When we delight ourselves in the Lord, he is so faithful to give us the desires of our heart. When I’m with Zach, it’s the evidence of those desires coming to pass. Every minute together is a reminder of Gods faithfulness, of His ability to pay close attention to detail, and His sweet fatherly nature of blessing His children with good gifts.

Zach is truly who God had in mind for me. He’s made that so apparent to the both of us. Getting to love and cherish Zach for all the days of my life feels like the greatest privilege and honor. I used to think meeting someone online was a lackluster way of doing it, it went against the hopeless romantic side of me. But then I realized it’s not really how you meet, but more about who it is you’re meeting and how you’ll continue to meet one another through life’s ups and downs. I’m beyond confident that Zach is the greatest partner for everything we will face together. I cannot wait to make that commitment in front of all our friends and family, and most importantly to God. Marrying Zach will be one the greatest and best decisions of my life.