So… yes. Turns out Tinder does work sometimes. Ben and I chatted for a few weeks before he asked me to come down to Havelock to meet him—and well… I said no 😂. He had just told me he was about to deploy and wanted to “lock me down before he left,” and I knew I couldn’t get involved with someone who was about to be gone for six months. But then we FaceTimed. Every single night. For a week straight. Somewhere along the way, he convinced me to meet him. (Later, my mom told me that one night she walked in while we were on the phone and noticed a look in my eye—one she hadn’t seen before. She said she knew right then that Ben was different.) Ben went back home to Greensboro before deployment, and I drove down to meet him for our first date. It went great. We went out to eat, then he drove me around town showing me all the places he grew up going to. At one point, he turned to me and asked if I wanted to go to his mom’s house. I was shocked. I said, “Do you want me to go to your mom’s house?????” His response: “Jordan, if I didn’t think this date was going well, I would’ve taken you back to your car already.” 😂 After that weekend, we spent as much time together as possible before he left and made the most of his eight-month “cruise.” Through distance, FaceTimes, and faith, our love—for God and for each other—only grew stronger. Now, 2.5 years later, we have a dog, a boat, and more laughs and memories than we can count. Distance pushed us, stretched us, and made us stronger—even when it was hard. And now, we’re so happy that “the plan” is finally coming to fruition (IYKYK 😉). Now here we are, counting down the days until we get married… all because we both swiped right on Tinder💍🤍