We're renewing our vows!

Chris and I met online like many other couples! I knew the first time that I met him and talked to him that he was a kind soul and a caring man of God with a good sense of humor. Our first date started with church. Chris was serving on the security team (which he doesn't know he got brownie points for) and I found out later he actually got in trouble for leaving his post to sit next to me... but besides the point, after church we decided to get coffee, coffee turned into a long walk, which turned into lunch, which turned into dinner, and that eventually lead us to salt & straw at the end of a 10 hour date because we couldn't stop talking! The rest is basically history!

Chris and I have both used the phrase "God winks" before we met each other, to us, this means things that are too specific to be coincidences. For years, I have prayed for a man who is kind, caring, funny, compassionate, loves God, and is gentle in spirit but still a man of God who knows his identity in Christ. For those of you who don't know Chris well, this is him to a "t." I have prayed, "God, please let my husband love you more than he loves me," I remember a conversation that Chris and I had a couple months into us dating where he said this phrase verbatim to me, explaining that he doesn't want it to come across a certain way, but that he was prioritizing God, and I remember telling him, "good! That's what I want!" To begin, on our first date, we discovered that we both have compass tattoos on our left forearm, facing the same direction! We both got these when both our lives looked very different (IYKYK). Personally, I got this tattoo to remind me to let God lead my path and rely on him for guidance in life, to always go back to Him no matter how lost I may feel in the moment. Chris and I have both had to overcome challenges in life, heartache, pain, loss, grief, and as individuals found our identity in Christ during the healing processes we both walked through separately. Our relationship is a testimony to God's faithfulness, hope, redemption, and love. Neither of us would be the partner we are for each other without the love of God guiding us to be who we are, and the grace to steward our relationship towards one another well. It's our hope that our marriage will honor God and each other, to grow in love, compassion, and grace. There have been quite a few God winks that we encountered when we first started dating such as redwoods and sunflowers, which is why being in nature speaks to us so much! We can't wait to share that with ya'll!