As far as I can remember, Anna and I met by chance when a mutual friend of ours, Karl, visited Memphis in the summer of 2016. Karl invited a bunch of people to meet at a local burger place and the only two who were free just so happened to be Anna and myself. Even though I was no doubt awkward during that lunch meeting, Anna and I remained friends throughout college, maintaining a cheerful delight whenever our paths crossed.

Even after we both left Mississippi College we maintained a connection via Instagram and Text, with our interactions sparsed over months. For example, one random night in the summer of 2019. Anna messaged me on Instagram to inform me that she met my parents at a Panera Bread in Memphis and how excited my mom was to meet her. This may sound random to you at first but to me, this is firstly a fun example of the friendly connection Anna and I maintained after college, and secondly, this is an example of the Lord's hand on our relationship years before our first date.

Our reunion came at the end of what was a pretty tough time for me. My mother passed away in 2021 and my father began his battle with cancer which culminated in a series of events that led to me moving back to Memphis for a brief time in the fall of 2022 to care for him. During that time, on my 26th birthday, I received a simple text from Anna wishing me a happy birthday and inviting me to catch up the next time I was in Memphis.

We met at a coffee shop, seeing each other in person for the first time in three years, and within minutes it was clear to both of us that we wanted more time together. So we just kept finding excuses to meet up over and over again until I worked up the nerve to finally ask her out on a proper date. Admittedly, it was not very long after that first date that I absolutely knew that I wanted to spend my life with Anna. So nearly a year later I took the very engagement ring my mother wore and had it re-fitted for Anna and felt an indescribable sense of elation when I heard her agree to marry me, a feeling that still hits me every time I look at her.