The story of Shelby and Dan. Where to even start? The facts. Let’s start with the facts. It was a warm summer night in their cozy beach town. A nice night for a stroll on the boardwalk, they both decided. They lived just two blocks from one another. So close and yet unaware of each other’s existence. There was an electricity in the air that night. They both felt it. Something was about to happen. As to what? They had no idea. But there was something.

It was the corner of Lareine Ave. and Ocean Ave. They were in no hurry, but certainly had no intentention of slowing down. Until it happened. Shelby noticed him first. His rugged handsomeness. Grizzly and bearded. A real man, she thought. He noticed her beautiful blue eyes, which seemed to sparkle even in the dim boardwalk lighting. She smiled. He loved her smile. Shelby asked him if he was from Tennessee. He was, after all, the only ten that she could see. He respected her attempt to flirt.

They walked side by side, talking anxiously but excited. Like giddy middle schoolers. They sat on a bench on the Ocean Grove pier. It was the first of many deep conversations on that same pier. There was a lunar eclipse that night. The stars literally aligned for them. It had happened. Their paths crossed, and intertwined in such a way that led them to this point, ready to spend their lives together.

Just kidding. Hinge. They met on a dating app.

But they did meet for the first time on the boardwalk and there was a lunar eclipse that night. So that’s something.

No, it wasn’t the romantic love story you watch in movies. But God led Shelby and Dan to one another in His perfect timing. After they met that first night, they met up every day over the summer. They spent every night walking on the beach, throwing baseballs, and praying together on the lifeguard stand. And they never looked back. They continue to push one another to be better versions of themselves, and continue to pursue God’s purpose for their union together. Not only do they get one another, they sharpen one another.

“Just as iron sharpens iron, so one person sharpens another.” -Proverbs 27:17