Some stories begin with fireworks. Ours began quietly — over years, in passing moments, and in memories that didn’t seem important at the time. We had known of each other for years, but we were never truly close. We had mutual friends, saw each other at gatherings and parties from time to time, and would always say hello in passing. Even back then, though, there was always familiarity between us. Tre remembered Cydney as the beautiful, tall, graceful girl who always stood out in the room, while Cydney remembered Tre as a genuinely kind and good-hearted brother. Life eventually took Cydney to New York, where she was commuting to Bethel, Tre was busy in his own congregation; and honestly, we both assumed our lives would continue on separate paths. Still, every now and then, Tre would ask Cydney’s parents how she was doing, and we’d stay lightly connected through occasional texts and social media interactions without thinking much of it. Then came December 2024. Tre and his cousin planned a trip to New York to visit the facilities, and he reached out to see if Cydney wanted to hang out while they were in town. By coincidence — or maybe by something greater than coincidence — Cydney and her friend happened to have no plans that weekend. That weekend changed everything. The conversation felt effortless. Hours passed naturally between laughter, stories, and getting to know each other in a way we never really had before. Somewhere during one of those conversations, Tre asked Cydney if she would ever move back to Ohio. Without hesitation, her answer was: “ABSOLUTELY NOT.” But life has a funny way of rewriting plans. Just a couple months later, in February 2025, Cydney texted Tre saying she had actually decided to return to Ohio after all. At first, Cydney only saw Tre as a close friend — someone she genuinely enjoyed talking to and spending time with. Their friendship had blossomed naturally, and she looked forward to being around him and his friends more often once she moved back home. Meanwhile, Tre had already begun seeing something deeper developing between them. Eventually, he asked her out to dinner and made his intentions clear. Cydney was hesitant at first because she didn’t want to risk losing such a meaningful friendship. But as we spent more time together, something deeper began to grow. Through countless conversations, moments together, laughter, support, and prayer, friendship slowly turned into love. Cydney began to see Tre’s heart in the very way she had prayed Jehovah would help her to see it. What started as years of crossing paths turned into friendship, connection, love, and eventually the realization that Jehovah had been writing our story long before we ever understood it ourselves. Sometimes love doesn’t arrive all at once. Sometimes it waits patiently in the background until the timing is finally right.