August 24, 2024

I first noticed Hadyn in the summer of 2022, when my family first moved here to North Carolina from New York. He was the cool, tall guy with the long dark hair and famous mustache. Assuming there was probably a large age gap between us, I didn’t think too much about any possibilities. I focused on building connections with the people in the new environment, mainly girls closer to my age. Hadyn and I didn’t interact much, until early 2023 when we had a few conversations about art, a hobby that we both shared. I knew him to be extremely talented, and became interested in getting to know him better. I’d observed his diligence in being there to serve the church body whenever he could, and his overall faithfulness to the Lord. After those initial interactions, I ended up going to Tennessee to serve at a ministry for 2 months. When I returned we reconnected, and this time we grew a lot closer over the course of the summer. A mutual interest became evident over time, and eventually we began dating late November. The 25th to be exact! Since then we’ve gotten to know each other better than we could’ve imagined back then, and have grown so much together. The Lord has been so kind in giving us the opportunity to share in these experiences together, and it is our prayer that He will only grow us closer as we approach the awaited day that we will be joined together before Him, for the rest of our lives! — Alivia

A story like ours doesn’t go without first saying that God is Good. He is faithful to love his children and often surprises us with gifts we never saw coming. That’s exactly how I view meeting Alivia, a sweet gift from the Lord that over a year ago I never saw coming. Like Alivia said, the first time we ever spoke, it was related to our shared interest in art, of various kinds. Then within a week after that first conversation, she shipped herself off to Tennessee for 2 months. With the knowledge I had of her being gone for 2 months, I counted the time until I would be able to speak to her in person again. However, this didn’t stop me from reaching out to her during her time away out of curiosity about how she was serving despite being away from her family and home church. Some of those first conversation threads set Alivia apart as I saw her discernment for truth and love for the Lord. When she came back and throughout the summer I became very fond of her company at our group fellowships playing sand volleyball, playing board games, or simply having great conversations at church events and conferences. Come the beginning of November I felt confident that I wanted to ask her out on a first date but originally did not plan to do so until the beginning of 2024. That all changed the more I prayed and sought counsel on it and was then not just confident but also convinced that I was ready to pursue her as soon as I could, with my own personal criteria of speaking to her father first. Since then I’ve never questioned whether or not Alivia was right for me. God made that clearly evident through her love for Him, His body, and her growth in her walk with Jesus. Alivia is one of the most gentle, sweet, and gracious souls that I have ever met. She and I laugh over the goofiest things and we enjoy sharing memories as we try out new places to drink coffee and have enjoyable and intentional conversations. The most repeated comment throughout our relationship has probably been “God is Good”. Because He is, and His love for us will forever surpass how much we could love each other. When both bride and groom have their eyes set on Christ it will make it far easier to lay aside your personal preferences and push each other towards what we were designed for, worship, of the One true God. Love Hadyn.