The front of the dining hall at Lake Forest Ranch in Macon, MS is where I first saw Ryan Ethridge. He claims that when he saw me walk in, his first thought was that I was the most beautiful woman he’d ever seen, though I think he may be seeing that from a hind sight point of view. We sat down the last night of camp together with our dear friend Aggie (a bridesmaid in our wedding) and we all told each other our testimonies. That’s where our friendship began. He was going to William Carey, which is in Hattiesburg, so I got to spend a lot of time with him. A trip back up to camp to work a family Labor Day retreat made us both realize we saw each other as more than friends. After discussing our feelings for each other, we decided to not date for a year and only pursue a friendship, getting to know each other, and building our relationship on the most important aspects— spiritual, emotional, and mental. We were intentional about letting Christ build our relationship as He pleased, and with great patience, we waited until a year after we confessed feelings for each other (September 23!!) to begin an official relationship with each other. As our relationship continued, I was constantly made aware of the fact that Ryan looks so much like Christ and loves me like Him too. Loving him is the most joyful and rewarding thing I get to do besides living for Christ, although I also believe loving Ryan well is a wonderful, important part of living as Christ would have me live. -- The Lord has blessed us both so dearly and woven our lives together in such an intentional way. Following the Lord as we begin our lives as one is something we are earnestly looking forward to, and the future of his plans for us creates an excitement we can't describe! Our prayer is for our marriage to ultimately be a reflection of the union of Jesus Christ and His church, being a wonderful, but imperfect representation of the hope to come when all believers meet union our Savior in the clouds the day He returns. We cannot wait to serve each other in marriage, and we can’t wait for you to be a part of it!! To God be the glory!