When I signed up to help with youth ministry in high school, I don't know what I expected. To grow in my faith? I hoped so. To make new friends? Most likely. To help kids know Jesus? Definitely. To meet my future husband? Nope. Who could've expected that?

The Lord definitely has a sense of humor. More than that, He provides in ways past our imagining, past our plans, and beyond our expectations every time. David and I can witness to this in our lives, as with every obstacle, every new season of life, the Lord has preserved our hearts for one another.

David and I met while volunteering for a ministry program called EDGE at Ss. Cyril and Methodius Catholic Church. We both attended the high school ministry nights, Lifeteen, every week, but had never really crossed social circles. At sixteen, we were asked to help with EDGE, ministering to the middle schoolers of the parish. We became fast friends, especially since David drove me home from youth nights every week. It was convenient! We only lived five minutes from each other, and I didn't have my license yet. I won't mention how it was the highlight of my week. That isn't important at all ;)

Through a series of long talks and growing friendship, we developed feelings for each other. But I would never say anything - I wanted him to speak up first. Little did I know that he was seriously questioning asking me out. He asked the Lord for a sign about when to ask me on a date - not if, when. He asked for white roses if he was meant to wait, and red roses if he was meant to ask me out right away. On the Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe, David got his answer - white roses everywhere. He decided to wait, trusting that the Lord would let him know when the time was right. Since all of that was unknown to me, and I had to sit back and wait. But my feelings for David remained, too stubborn to go anywhere with time. His did the same, though I didn't know it.

Two years later, we were seniors, graduating high school. I had finally decided that I would attend Franciscan University, meaning that David and I would be at the same college. David told me later that this was God's sign to him that the time was right. A week before prom, our guy friends plotted with David a way to get us alone. After they bolted from the car we had driven to a park in, David pulled a single red rose from his car and asked me to prom.

It was late when David dropped me off at my house the night of our senior prom. We sat and talked for a few minutes before David finally asked what I'd been waiting to hear all that time - if I would go on a date with him. With a peace I tangibly remember flooding through me, I calmly (and exuberantly) said yes.

We've lived through quite a few seasons since we started dating that summer, including going to Franciscan University together, studying abroad in Austria, summers of long distance, and more. These last few years have proved to us both that there will be many more seasons to come, but with faith, self-sacrifice, laughter, and steadfast love, we can weather them as one.

When David proposed on a beautiful July afternoon, summer of 2024, I felt that same peace I felt when accepting his invitation for our first date. He'd tricked me throughout the whole summer, throwing me off so that I wouldn't know when it was happening. When we walked into our field where we would go to watch the sunrise, I was fooled until I saw the picnic blanket covered in red roses. Our flower that had always been God's yes to us. Absolutely glowing (and then screaming with excitement) I said yes to David. I can't wait for the day we can officially say yes to each other for the rest of our lives.

Please pray for us and all the seasons to come. We are praying for you. God bless!