Some love stories begin with a chance encounter. Ours began with a message. For years, both of us prayed for God to bring the right person into our lives. There were seasons when we wondered if our expectations were too high, but we continued to trust His timing, believing that what He had planned would be worth the wait. While visiting Austin, Jake was discerning whether he should move back to Texas. During that trip, he came across Hannah's profile. What first caught his attention was her love for God, chocolate chip cookies, and golden retrievers—three things he wholeheartedly approved of. To Jake, she seemed like everything he had been hoping and praying for, so he sent her a message. What he didn't know was that Hannah had paused her profile right around that same time. For six months, his message sat unseen. When Hannah eventually reopened the app, she was shocked to discover the note she had completely missed. Immediately intrigued, she looked through Jake's profile and wondered how she could have missed him. She quickly sent a reply, hoping he might still be interested after all that time. Thankfully, he was. By then, Jake had moved back to Omaha, but their conversation picked up as though no time had passed at all. From Hannah's perspective, there was something different about him almost immediately. The conversation flowed effortlessly—full of laughter, thoughtful questions, and shared values. They quickly discovered they had more in common than a love for God, chocolate chip cookies, and golden retrievers. There was an ease to their connection that felt rare, and after each conversation, Hannah found herself looking forward to the next one. Jake felt it too. Just one week after they began talking, he knew he didn't want to wonder "what if." There was only one problem: Hannah lived nearly 800 miles away. While on a business trip in Phoenix, Jake wrestled with whether flying to Austin for a first date made sense. It felt like a big step for someone he had only known for a week. He prayed for wisdom and clarity, and in that prayer, he found peace. So he booked the flight. By the time their first date arrived, both Hannah and Jake were hopeful there might be something special between them. What happened next far exceeded even their highest expectations. Their first date lasted more than five hours. They sat talking at dinner until the restaurant closed around them, completely losing track of time. The chemistry they had discovered through messages translated effortlessly into real life, and what could have felt unfamiliar instead felt remarkably comfortable. Neither of them wanted the evening to end. In fact, one date quickly turned into an entire weekend together. Afterward, Jake called his mom and a few close friends and said, “I think I just met my wife.” A few weeks later, he returned to Austin and met Hannah's siblings. From there, they embraced the challenges of long distance, discovering that every flight, every goodbye, and every reunion only strengthened what God was building between them. Looking back now, we can see God's faithfulness woven through every part of our story. From a message that sat unread for six months to a first date that changed everything, what once felt like delays were actually part of a plan far better than either of us could have imagined. What began with a message became a first date. What began with a flight became a future. And now, surrounded by the people we love most, we are filled with gratitude for the journey that brought us together and excitement for the chapter still to come.