We are getting married!

It was a chilly December night in 2019. I, Conner, was ice skating with one of my good buddies in downtown Tulsa at an event called Winterfest when all of the sudden, I saw this beautiful girl that was also ice skating with a few of her friends. I had recognized her from a mutual friend and decided that I was going to "take my shot". Little did fourteen year old Conner realize that he had just met the girl that would change his life forever. This girl was named Addie. Her and I started talking for long periods of time on the phone and had made quite a connection after a few dates. Just a few days after I had asked her to be my girlfriend, tragedy struck and Covid had entered the world, sending everyone into lockdown for the time being. This meant that a lot of our beginning stages of our relationship were through a digital screen, leading to both fun but challenging times. Luckily we were able to spend time together on the lake at her childhood home where we truly became best friends and fell in love. After dating through out high school and going into college we realized that we were in different spots in our faith, and we decided to separate from each other and go our own ways in order to go all in with Jesus despite our love for one another. Addie went off to a summer discipleship program where she learned what it meant to no longer be lord of her life, but live surrendered to Jesus, keeping Him as Lord over her life. She saw that living for Jesus meant being obedient to His Word, and making much of His name by sharing His love! Jesus found me when I was stuck searching for an identity, which previously was worldly things that led to zero satisfaction in my heart. After moving to UCO, I wasnt sure what God had in store but this is where I would ultimately find my love for Him and find a community that truly resembled the Lord. Jesus showed me that my worth did not come from the world, but my identity is based in His finished work on the cross! It was not until November of 2024, after we both had been growing in our individual relationships with Jesus Christ, had decided to give this relationship a revival. It became clear we were both new creations in Christ, as if we were two totally different people, and the love we always had for one another never changed. There were a lot of difficult conversations and lengthy prayers that went into this decision, but with the support of our community and the promise of the gospel we knew God would bless what He was bringing back together. Our relationship since had been nothing short of a blessing, and every day we thank Him for redeeming a past full of sin and guilt, even more so for not leaving us there, but making us new and teaching us what true love is: Jesus dying on the cross as a ransom for our sins, leaving the Holy Spirit to dwell within us to teach us and grow us, not to be sinless, but to love the Lord! On November 1st of 2025, I asked Addie to marry me! We both cannot wait to call each other husband and wife in just a few months, and for a lifetime of serving the Lord together! All of the glory goes to God for "The Beauty of Redemption".