Neither one of us expected to find love during our college years at Liberty University. It’s always those plans that we make, however, that God tends to change drastically. We met in the school of music during his first year at Liberty. In the spring of 2016, Amanda joined the Wind Symphony that Christian was already a part of. As Amanda entered into the band hall, anxious about not knowing anybody, we were introduced (who was an already familiar face) by our mutual friend Josh Chung. We quickly found out we had the same friend group, but did not think much about it during that year. On a Saturday evening early in the Spring semester of 2017, Christian went to the music building to practice his clarinet. Upon reserving a practice room, he walked by one that Amanda was in and decided to stop to talk. We weren't planning on talking for very long but before we knew it, minutes had turned to hours and the school of music was closing. We both really needed to practice for upcoming performances so we snuck down to the marching band uniform room and spent the next few hours practicing together. Fast forward to the 2017 Wind Symphony tour. An early morning, 4:30 call time, didn’t mean much sleep on the bus for us as we stayed up talking constantly across the aisle. Our hushed, constant chatter remained until the early morning light as other students began to wake up. For the rest of the week, we continued to be inseparable. Amanda specifically remembers being attracted to him the first time he led devotions on the bus. She saw how he allowed the Holy Spirit to speak freely through him. After a busy day in April, we were walking to the car when he asked her to officially be his girlfriend. He commented on how much he saw Jesus in her, and how confident he felt like the Lord had given him confirmation in moving forward in this relationship. She remembers feeling like his confidence and assurance in the Lord’s moving was definitely something she could get behind.

Fast forward to the next school year. We quickly got back into the busy swing of things while enjoying many classes and ensembles together. As the craziness of the fall semester began, we felt like we were drifting apart. One night halfway through, we decided to take indefinite time apart. It was an extremely difficult time in our lives while learning to balance our relationship with each other, our relationships with friends, and our walks with the Lord. Although we did not start dating for the remainder of the semester, we slowly learned how to be friends again and even went to the Christmas banquet for marching band (despite receiving advice against it from close friends)! The two of us began to realize our continued feelings for each other as the franticness of the fall semester began to settle into Christmas break. We kept in touch during the break, but truthfully did not have high hopes of getting back together. When the first week of Wind Symphony Winter camp began, we seemed to pick things up right where we left off. After some insistence on Amanda's part to define the relationship either way officially, Christian surprisingly told Amanda that he thought they could get married! She was surprised to say the least, but decided that as before, she could confidently follow someone who was following the Lord so closely in their decisions. The semester was filled with difficulty and joy alike, but the two of us lived life fully hand in hand. We grew in love for each other and pushed each other towards Christ, slowly learning what a healthy relationship looks like. The semester was filled with snowball fights, late night Sheetz and Jimmy Johns runs, adventures around downtown Lynchburg, sunset hikes, and just enjoying the every day hustle and bustle together. Our adventures together did not just include our planned outings, but also the mundane everyday excitement of just living life together.

The next summer was filled with multiple weddings we attended together and Christian got to come down to the Shotts' family beach vacation. It was there that Christian asked Mr. Shotts for his blessing in marriage and where he got the full family’s approval (although Amanda never doubted he would get it for a second)! We said our goodbyes after the summer with the promise of an approaching engagement and on September 21st, right outside the Liberty School of Music building, Christian got down on one knee and asked Amanda to commit to him forever. She did not hesitate for a moment, because a man who follows that closely to the Lord is exactly who she wanted to walk alongside for the rest of her life. We could not be more excited to gain a life long partner and best friend in each other. We've heard it said that if you can do more for the kingdom of God by partnering with someone in marriage, then you should link yourself to them without hesitation. We are fully confident that we could do more together than we ever could apart. We look forward to dedicating our married lives together for the Lord and are so honored and excited that you are willing to celebrate this big step in our lives with us.