“We’re getting married!”

June 8th was my first Sunday back at church after spending six weeks on a work trip in the Czech Republic. During the morning prayer time, I noticed a handsome stranger. I knew he was new as I had never seen him before. After church, I was walking with my mom back to the Welcome Center to get more coffee before Sunday School. I was humming a worship song, and the handsome stranger was walking in front of us. He turned and said, “It’s a catchy tune, right?” Yep! My mom went to get her tea, and then it was just this handsome stranger and me refilling our cups with coffee. I took the opportunity to introduce myself, and I asked if he was new. He told me he had moved back to Charleston 3 months ago and has been going to ECBC for about a month. He grew up in Goose Creek, served in the Army, and then spent 12 years living in Minnesota. I told him a little about myself and asked if he was going to Sunday school. He said he was going to the “God’s Story” class, and I said, "My dad is teaching that, see you there!" After Sunday School, Josh went up to meet my dad, and then the two of them, my mom, me, and my friend Rachel were all talking, and Josh turned to me and said, “I would love to hear more of your story. Do you have any lunch plans?” Taken aback with his forwardness, I said, “No, I don’t. If I were to go with you, I would need a ride as I came to church with my parents.” "No problem," was his reply. He then extended the invitation to Rachel, who was standing there as well. So the 3 of us went to lunch at Agave on Daniel Island, and I rode with Josh in his car. As he drove me home after lunch, I certainly wanted the conversation to continue. I was rambling about how I enjoy doing trivia from time to time, and he should come along the next time I go, so we exchanged phone numbers and have been in constant communication since. We saw each other every day for an entire week! We say our first official date was a beach walk on Sullivan's Island on June 12. That first month of getting to know each other was filled with fun dates, great conversations, and building of friendship. On July 7th, he asked me to be his girlfriend! We quickly experienced a freedom to be ourselves around each other and were both honest and open about our past relationships. Realizing that our values aligned, we knew this was something special. At one point, Josh messaged me and said, "Our time together has been: happy, encouraging, thoughtful, kind, fun, funny, and filled with wonder.” When I was traveling, I missed him, and we both just couldn't believe this was all happening. We believe it was God's perfect timing that propelled our story and caused our paths to align. Josh proposed on Sullivan's Island on November 22nd with the question, "Will you spend the rest of your life doing things with me?" YES! YES I WILL! (And he asked me to marry him! Also, YES!) We praise Jesus for crossing our paths and for answering our prayers in ways that exceed what we could have asked for or imagined. One of the things Josh keeps saying is, “Wow, you have a lot of people in your life who love you!” Family, friends, and community mean a great deal to us, and we are thrilled to merge our lives. After years and years of waiting, trusting, hoping, and (mostly) choosing joy along the way, the Lord has so faithfully and generously blessed us by bringing us together. Our God is so good, and he answers prayers! A lot of the time, not according to our own personal timeline, but HIS timing is THE BEST! We so look forward to partying with you!!!