I can't recall exactly when I got the idea that Abigail and I might work, but I do remember the night working at Home Depot when I decided to give it a go. That night began a process of occasionally sending texts and talking in person whenever the opportunity arose. After about a year of this, I finally decided I was confident enough to ask her out. Well, that was until I found out she had a new boyfriend. At that point, I had a decision to make. Optimistic that this new relationship wouldn't last, I decided to walk the line of continuing to get to know her but not overstepping. Soon enough, it did end. My pursuit fully resumed. I gradually ramped things up, and it all culminated in traveling down to Cedarville to see her Senior Recital. Things were made pretty clear that day. Not too long after, she came home and I asked her out. There was one date, then another, and then I asked her to be my girlfriend. After what was a brutal period of long-distance dating, she came home. We got to spend a lot more time with each other. It became clearer and clearer that this was destined for marriage. After a total of ten months, I asked her to marry me. Second-best decision I have ever made (fellow believers know why I say second). God has truly given me a gift that I could have never anticipated, yet always desired. Abigail is the greatest woman I have ever met. I can't wait to marry her and begin our lives together. -Kirth It wasn't until a year and a half later that I became aware of Kirth's pursuit of me. I became suspicious when I heard that he was driving 5 1/2 hours to Cedarville with a group of friends from our church to see me perform in my senior flute recital. That not only spurred my suspicions of his interest but got me thinking about the possibility of a relationship with him. As I thought about the godly, goofy man that I knew him to be, mostly from a distance, I began to realize that he possessed many of the qualities of a future husband that I had been praying for since I was a little girl. We began texting almost daily, and for hours at a time, between my Thanksgiving and Christmas break. I began feeling interested in him and hoped that he would ask me out when I came home again. Much to my excitement, he asked me on a date the day I returned home for Christmas break. After our first date on December 18, 2023, I was eager for a second. We scheduled our second date right away and it was on that date that I knew he would be my husband one day. I felt a little bit crazy for thinking that so early on, but the Lord made it abundantly clear to me from the beginning of our relationship. He officially asked me to become his girlfriend on December 29, 2023. From then on, we have grown to become best friends and it has been so evident that the Lord prepared us for each other. Saying yes to spending the rest of my life with him on October 19, 2024, was the easiest decision! I can't wait to serve the Lord as husband and wife! -Abigail