My first memory with Liz happened a long time after hers of me. If you were to ask her, I was the “spoiled rich kid with a nice car who was always grumpy.” She said that when I was 16, and I thought I was the stuff. The first time Liz and I ever spoke was in October of 2018 on our way to a haunted house. I had no idea she was going to be there and I was just going to have some fun watching my friends get scared. But when I pulled up and saw this girl wearing athletic shorts in 45 degree weather, I couldn’t take my eyes off of her. In fact, I persuaded everyone to go eat when we got back just so I could see her for a little bit longer. After that night, I was always trying to do stuff with people where I knew she might come, because I was immediately intrigued.

From October until December I was trying to get to know her more and eventually got her number from a friend because I was too scared to ask, so I started texting her non-stop and probably got really annoying. I remember texting her and sometimes getting an immediate response, and other times it would take her days to text me back and all I would get was a thumbs up. I genuinely had no idea if she liked me or not, so I figured I’d try to take her out and have a conversation about it with her. Multiple times I asked her to do something and she said she was in, I would get really excited and out of no where she would be like “oh by the way I’m bringing ___________ with me.” And I would always get depressed and upset because all my hopes and dreams had been crushed (that’s dramatic, but that’s what it felt like). Then one day I had had enough, so I asked her if she could eat breakfast with me ALONE, so I could tell her how I felt. I asked her to get breakfast on December 26th, and I might’ve eaten 3 ounces of food on Christmas Day because of how nervous I was, it was bad. When the time finally came and we sat down to eat breakfast, I ordered food and almost puked trying to get myself to eat it. Then the time finally came, we were about to leave and I knew I had to start talking, so I finally told her how I felt and I had no idea how she was going to respond, literally no clue. But thankfully she told me she liked me back and I was so happy words can’t describe. I was going on a trip, so we didn’t talk much for the next couple of days, but she was all I could think about.

When I got back, the first real date I took her on we went ice skating and I vividly remember busting my butt so hard and just laying there, then I looked up and there she is: phone in hand, taking a picture of me on the ground while laughing her butt off. At that point I knew we were going to have a really fun relationship that not many people experience. We went on dates for a couple of months after that, and on February 26 I asked her to be my girlfriend and at this point I was all in. Our relationship gradually got more serious over the next few months, but in my head the whole time I knew where I was hoping it would go, and in August we started having some tough discussions about timeline that really revealed some sin in each of our hearts. The first people we had to go to once we thought we had it figured out was her parents, and I was almost as nervous as I was when I told Liz I liked her, I couldn’t eat. We sat and had an amazing time together and we got their permission to pursue each other more seriously with hopes of getting engaged in the near future. Over the course of the next four months I fell more in love than I ever thought I would with the most godly, beautiful, sweet girl I have ever known. And every single day I got more and more excited to ask her to be my wife.

The time finally come when I had all the details ironed out, all the pieces in place, and all that was left to do was ask the question. So on December 21, I made a decision that would change my life forever, and I’m so thankful I did. I was really nervous leading up to it though, because I knew how big this was and just one little part of me was worried she might say no. However, thankfully, she didn’t, and I’ll never understand why. Now we’re busy planning a wedding, but at the same time trying to enjoy this time together and grow as closely as possible to each other, but most importantly push each other closer to the Lord. Over the course of our relationship, I’ve seen Christ so much in the way Liz loves me, and I hope she would say the same about me. We’re so excited to spend the rest of our lives together. We know there will be trials and struggles, but we have a gracious, faithful God, and a love for each other that’s stronger than any problems we may face, and we are so excited to see where the Lord takes us. -Tucker