BRIDE'S POV: Graham caught me completely by surprise, but in the best way. Last year, I was very much in a place where I was done with dating and overwhelmed by the fact that I may never find anybody. Well, then my mother comes along and offers to give my number to a dear friend in her D-group who has a son around my age, and I figured "why the heck not?". Little did I know that said son would take 3 weeks to text me, but I don't hold that against him. When we started texting, there was an instant connection -- we were texting whole paragraphs to each other and talking about everything we could think of. We finally got a chance to go on our first date (September 18, 2022), and after that I knew that this guy was different. I was struck by his intentionality, his deep love for the Lord and His Word, and the refreshing way he asked good questions and wasn't afraid to talk about the hard things. After our second date, we knew going forward that we would want to continue dating long distance. Though we moved fast through the dating process, I had an overwhelming peace that this was a good gift from the Lord, and that Graham was my person. He has been such a sweet picture of the Lord's grace and steadfast love in my life, and saying yes to marrying him was one of the easiest decisions I've ever made. GROOM's POV: Abbs has been a gift in a way I never would have imagined. I was in a similar place, discouraged about dating and praying that the Lord would give me contentment and joy in the season I was in. I had come to believe this was what the Lord had for me. I will never forget though when my mom told me about this girl who lived in New Orleans, had spent most of her life on the mission field in other countries, loved the Lord deeply, and was really cute. I was both excited by what I heard and also struck by just how beautiful she was, but I couldn't help but feel apprehension at the thought of trying yet again to date. After 3 weeks of prayer and building some confidence I decided, "Why not! What do I have to lose!?" and reached out to Abbs. Instantly we had conversations that stretched for days and I knew something was different. I'll never forget our first date and how it almost ended before it started because she almost hit me with her car...fun times! I think I'll let her live that one down....never haha. After our first two dates I knew in my heart I wanted to pursue her more than casually. I was enamored by her passion and understanding of Scripture, her maturity, how intentionally she pursued the people around her, and her love for the Lord. A month after we started dating I knew in my heart I loved her and this was the woman I had been praying for throughout my life. Abbey has been such a wonderful picture of the love of the Lord and His abundant goodness. Pursuing and marrying Abbs has been and is the greatest joy and honor of my life.