God is most glorified in us when we are most satisfied in Him. - John Piper.

The story of our life together has to begin with our lives apart. We are both products of God’s kindness; learning about Jesus, our sin, and His forgiving sacrifice at an early age. For Emily, this learning came through the faithfulness of her parents and grandparents. Mornings spent with her Meme, learning to love and enjoy God while simultaneously making cinnamon rolls, and the faithfulness of her parent’s modeling, teaching, and prayers have shaped her into a Godly woman. This love for God has been further molded by the gift of community to walk alongside her: through childhood with her cousins, through semesters at A&M (whoop!), through summers at Pine Cove Christian Camp, and in navigating adulthood with roommates, friends, and Northway Church in Dallas.

For Stephen, a knowledge of God came, initially, from dinner table conversations with his parents and questions to Sunday school teachers. A personal relationship with God came in college, through a group of guys who taught each other how to confess their failures and accept God’s grace. This relationship was then solidified by his Watermark church family in Fort Worth, through friends, community group, Kids ministry team, and Re:gen recovery groups.

We were introduced to each other through Emily’s roommate, Whitney, who reached out to Stephen and asked if he would be interested in a set-up with her roommate, Emily. Stephen turned down the offer of a set-up (we know, what was he thinking?), but told Whitney if there was ever a game night to let him know. Thankfully, Whitney took this to mean, “set up a game night so these two can meet each other” and scheduled it for December 9th, 2023.

Stephen, being chronically early, was the first to arrive at that game night, despite instructing himself over and over “Don’t be the first one there. Don’t be the first one there. Don’t…” He walked in, he looked across the room to see a stunning woman, and managed to formulate a normal greeting when Whitney said, “Stephen, this is my roommate, Emily!” After 15 minutes of conversation, he knew that he was going to ask this girl out. So, after hours of board games, counting down the minutes, and waiting for the last of the guests to be shuffled out, Stephen had his chance. Emily agreed immediately to a date, and told him at least 10 times before he left that night “how excited she was” to see him again.

Our relationship kicked off with hours of uninterrupted conversation over coffee where we talked about family, hopes, Christianity, shortcomings, and all the space in between. This set the precedent for being honest with each other and for being ourselves. We’ve laughed until our stomachs hurt (usually in inopportune settings), we’ve grieved over our disappointments and hurts, and we’ve received and extended forgiveness to one another. Our relationship has been really sweet, but it has not been shielded from the hardships in life. We understand that life is a struggle, and we want to walk through the really good and the really hard parts of life with each other.

We are thrilled that you would come celebrate our future marriage with us, and are eager to meet you out on the dance floor! However, as our life together officially begins, we hope that something is abundantly clear. We fully believe that this long-awaited wedding day, marriage, and future together will never truly satisfy us. Work, finances, friendships, children, influence, popularity or any other human pursuit will not provide lasting purpose. God is more than just “a” source of ultimate fulfillment; He is the “only” source of ultimate fulfillment. Only a relationship with our Creator can do that. We rejoice that He gives his affection and grace freely, knowing that we could never earn His kindness on our own.

Finally, we hope that you understand this satisfaction has been extended to you too. We have all rebelled against the God who created us, and for that rebellion, we deserve death. However, God’s love is enough to cover our rebellion. He has demonstrated this love that while we were still his enemies, Jesus, God’s only Son, chose to die in our place. Jesus’ death was not the end; he was raised to life and has offered that resurrection to us if we choose to turn from our rebellion and ask for forgiveness. Though we should be separated from God, he has provided a path to life with Him forever. Do you know Him?