John and I first met in August of 2024 through a dating app, as any respectable young people in LA would. All I knew was that his Sundays consisted of attending mass, he appreciated a good rock, and that he was quite a handsome yet unassuming young fellow. Good enough for me. Our brief exchanges were witty (as can be expected with yours truly), and John promptly and respectfully asked me on a date. I had been pedal to the metal in a line dancing fixation. I informed him if he wanted to find a place in my jam packed schedule, he would have to cowboy up that Wednesday. To my surprise, he did. John put his best foot forward, which is difficult when you have two left feet. To his credit, the genuine effort only endeared me to him further. When the date was over, his polite request to go on a second date beguiled me. "Finally", I thought, "a man with intention". We moved slowly, growing in certainty about the other. In the fast paced world of young twenty-somethings, this was refreshing. What I found over the next few dates was that John is intentional, tender, mature beyond years, and too good to be true. It was this last quality that convinced me he was the one. While I didn't immediately feel 'love', I did feel suspicion that God had plopped a perfect man in my lap right when I had started making good life decisions. I remember calling a friend before the fourth date, telling him, "If anything goes wrong, it's going to be my fault." Thank goodness for that, because John tells me that his beautiful woman could never be at fault. - Our relationship could not have come at a better time. Annie and I both had difficult years with work, life transitions, loss of family, and other emotional tumults that come with early adulthood. We first professed our love to each other when she returned from a trip to Oregon in September. Annie's grandfather was passing, and I knew she needed my support. We have been familiarized with many phases of life in the relatively short span of our relationship. The peaks of engagement, promotions, grad school and the depths of stress, chronic illnesses, and death could have easily toppled our relationship. Instead, each event solidified our devotion to each other and our trust in God. When falling in love with Annie, I became attracted to numerous facets of who she is. Her depth of emotion, humor, faith, and beauty are all greater than I ever imagined my future wife would have, and what endeared me the most to her is how deeply she loves and cares for family, friends, and even those she knows very little. Annie's selfless acts amaze me every time, and I have been blessed by her coming to my rescue with food and words of comfort many late nights at work. Every day we thank God for bringing us together, and we pray He grants us strength through all of the ups and downs in marriage.