October 2024, I was attending General Conference in Long Beach California. I was around the very crowded bible college booths with some friends, when I spotted my friend Hensely’s brother. I knew it was him from her instagram, and since I hadn’t seen Hensley all week, I went up to him to ask where she was. When Hayden turned around, we talked a little bit about the week and also how Hensley wasn’t with him. He mentioned that they were going to hang out in the lobby at the HQ hotel downtown later that evening. It was a brief conversation, and I didn’t run into him at the lobby, but that conversation did stick with me. I noticed on my flight home, I received a follow on instagram from Hayden, so of course I followed him back. The next several weeks I replayed our interaction and wondered if he felt the same spark that I did when we talked. Fast forward to the last week of October, and after dropping little hints by liking each other’s posts and stories, Hayden messaged me. A month later he flew out to take me on our first date in DC for one day. It was the best date of my life. We spent all day together at museums, the planetarium, and a really cool cafe that Hayden loves to this day. One little thing I prayed for was to feel fireworks with whoever my husband was… while we ate dinner on the water out the National Harbor, a firework show went off. It was one of the little God wink moments. Since that date, Hayden has become my best friend. I am so blessed that in Hayden I have a friendship, a protector, a leader, and a man who wants to take care of me and my heart. He is always down for a new adventure and even going to Disney World for my birthday trip, where he proposed to me! This love is one that has so reflected the love of Christ, and I am beyond excited for distance to end, and to begin the rest of our lives together!