“And the greatest of these is love.”

This is what we always say, because after just two weeks of knowing each other, we couldn’t believe how much it felt like we had been in each others lives forever! A set up gone RIGHT — We know our love could only be orchestrated by God because ending up in Atlanta, GA was probably the only thing not on Mike’s to-do list. But it all makes sense now, knowing years of prayer that went into our paths crossing. It all started with some help from a now Maid of Honor who Mike met through a Bible study. She knew from the start we would be a match. Mike was quite terrified of being set up, but as you may know, said Maid of Honor can be very persistent. Mike soon slid in the DM's requesting that we polar plunge a harbor we should also throw some tea in, naturally. As if this didn't already scream soulmate to me, I took the responsible and sneaky (psycho) approach of gathering more intel before scheduling a date. I read Mike's book and suddenly asset allocation, tax breaks, and VA loan qualifications became very interesting ;) Weeks of chatting on the phone led to one Friday: The Date. Which we all knew was probably going to be at the gun range. But, as fate would have it, Mike just happened to be at my church the Tuesday prior. We planned to meet, yet in a sea of people failed to cross paths. Mike was beginning to wonder if he should apply to be on the show Catfished. After leaving church at 10 p.m. I was finally getting my late dinner at Taco Bell (marriage material, I know), and I texted Mike asking if he wanted to meet me at the drive-thru. He countered with a power move—“How about I cook you a steak instead?” (Okayyy). With my Taco Bell plans officially upstaged, I had ten minutes to freshen up. I pulled over at a gas station, frantically grabbed a mini toothbrush and deodorant, and mentally prepared myself to play dumb as if I didn't read his book and already know his whole life story. Meanwhile, Mike had ten minutes to clean up his apartment and himself, cook a steak, put on music, candle, and rehearse his hello to his dog Josie. Mike greets me outside my car with a hand gun gesture as though he's going to rob me, and I give him a "I like my coffee black and tea in the harbor" coffee cup in return. And if that's not love we don't know what is. Just like that, hours of effortless conversation took off and the laughter was non-stop. It was like meeting our best friend and soulmate all in one go. We clicked immediately, and we haven’t stopped laughing—or falling deeper in love—since. Who knew God had much greater things in store than a Crunch Wrap Supreme on a Tuesday night. The beginning of adventures together with the author of my new favorite book… and now, a #balboabound life of love, joy, and plenty of laughs!