Join in the Celebration

I first met Abby on Friday, October 8, 2021. We were at the Salt Co Fall Retreat (our college ministry). We met across the table playing a game called Secret Hitler, which Abby is much better at than I am. We quickly became friendly faces towards one another. I always enjoyed seeing Abby’s smile and joy from across the room, but nothing more than small talk happened between us until April. That’s when I received a text from her asking to get coffee. My friend, Tavo, had sent her my number (thanks, Tavo! I’m marrying this girl!). We decided to meet at Dogwood NE (still my fav coffee shop). Neither of us thought it was a date when we arrived, but after five and a half hours of chatting, I was starting to think that I might like this girl. We talked about everything that I could’ve imagined, but somehow, neither of us wanted to leave. We began to get coffee and go on walks often. In just a week or two, it felt like Abby was the only person I wanted to be around. After about a month of talking, I asked Abby to be my girlfriend; she said no. I was pretty surprised, but that led to a conversation where she called me higher in my leadership and character. This made me even more excited about Abby. She has always been able to tell me the truth and point me back to Jesus, which is something that I really love about her. A few weeks later, Abby finally agreed to my initial request to be my girlfriend. We began officially dating on June 6, 2022. Our first year of dating was unique. We enjoyed Gopher Football games and time with friends during the fall, but everything looked different in the spring. Abby studied abroad in Florence, Italy, for four months. Then, in May, I took off for a mission trip to South Asia. These months presented some challenges for us, but also great memories, including FaceTime-date-nights watching The Queen's Gambit and a week spent together in Florence (we’ll be back!). I continued to learn more about Abby, primarily her love for traveling and her loyalty to people despite challenges. But perhaps the most important thing that we both learned during this year was that it was much better to be close than far. During our second year of dating, we lived just down the block from one another, a total change from the year before. Needless to say, we had a lot of fun! We got to see each other nearly every day in some capacity. We spent time with our friends playing pickleball, watched Ted Lasso, went on frequent walks, and enjoyed Abby's cooking. This was the year that Abby joined me as a Timberwolves fan and golfer. She has always made an effort to love things that I do. Our senior year was different from the rest. I moved home while Abby moved to a new place in Minneapolis. I was busy, working 40+ hours a week while in school. Meanwhile, Abby was getting ready to graduate in December and begin her career. As we transitioned to a new life stage, we had different priorities, leading us to break up in mid-October 2024. Over the course of the next few months, God did a deep work in both of us that grew our humility, maturity, and love towards one another. After two strange months of not talking to each other, we got together and talked for hours. There were tears, apologies (mostly from me), and laughs. It felt so right to be together. We slowly processed and discerned what was next with the help of trusted friends and family. Thankfully, we got back together on February 21, 2025, shortly after Abby's trip to Europe. From then on, it was obvious that we wanted to spend the rest of our lives together. It was also obvious that God had been at work. We were learning what it meant to truly love and serve one another over Chili's dates and time together. I proposed to Abby on October 5 at Webber Apple Orchard, a place that was special to us, as we would go with Abby’s family every year. We’ll never forget that moment. Now, we’re excited to spend the rest of our lives together. We cannot wait to celebrate with you!