The story of how our lives connected is one the Lord sovereignly scripted and Jacob and Ashley are forever grateful for how He brought them together. The two first met at a Bible study years ago. As a new teacher, Ashley soon found her evenings wrapped up in work and was unable to make it to Bible study. At that time, Jacob and Ashley were little more than acquaintances. Years later, the Lord caused their lives to intersect again when Ashley’s sister, Audrey, needed help moving from California to Colorado. Jacob, who sang in the church choir with Audrey, had offered to help her move along with another young man, Jonn (who eventually became Audrey’s husband). Ashley took time off from work and the four of them, along with the Horton girls’ mom, Beth, spent the morning together loading Audrey’s boxes into the moving pod. The group had a great time together. Little did they know what God had in store for the future. It was there that Jacob began to notice something different about Ashley and pursue her. After several months of only passerby conversations, Jacob reached out to make sure that Ashley was safe when there were fires near her apartment. It was moments like these that Ashley started to experience Jacob’s care and the depth of his kindness. They messaged occasionally and a friendship began to grow. It was during these conversations that Jacob learned how sweet and funny Ashley was. While they attended the same church, the two didn’t see each other often since they went to different services. When the choir sang, Jacob would look for Ashley in the congregation while he was singing and sit near her through second service to get to talk to her afterwards. He was nervous because he thought that a girl like Ashley was out of his league. One Sunday, Jacob and Ashley enjoyed a long conversation after church. They walked back to Ashley's car and she kindly gave Jacob a ride to his car.

Although Jacob knew that Ashley was kind and sweet, he began to realize the depth of her kindness. Ashley continued to be impressed by his character and the way he cared for others Jacob was nervous about asking Ashley out. He went back and forth with wondering if Ashley liked him or was just being nice. With some encouragement from his friends, he decided to ask her at a Bible study they both had started to attend. Much to Jacob’s dismay, the lesson was about relationships. Jacob went ahead and asked anyway and, to his excitement, Ashley said yes! They originally talked about coffee but it quickly turned into getting lunch. Ashley looked so beautiful in her blue dress. The two enjoyed a great first date together and were going to end their time together after Jacob dropped Ashley off. The Lord had other plans though… After dropping Ashley back off at her apartment, Jacob left and Ashley picked up her groceries. After arriving back home she realized her car was having problems. Jacob also had noticed Ashley had left her Bible in his car and kindly offered to return it and help her with her car problems. The two went on to have the best time laughing and singing in the car together on the way to get antifreeze. While the two had initially talked about going slowly, a few dates turned into seeing each other nearly every day and the two were official within a month of their first date.

Little did they know what the year 2020 would hold for them… The year was filled with COVID scares, difficult work situations, and losing friends and loved ones to death and disease. It was these challenges that brought them together more as they supported each other through it all. God used these trials to make their love for one another only grow. It was the Lord’s kindness in bringing them together. Jacob and Ashley relied on each other’s encouragement and help when times were hard and when there never seemed to be an end to the craziness. There were also fun trips and exciting moments, like Jacob going to ask Ashley’s dad for permission to marry her and to visit her while she was home for the summer. Their love for each other only grows deeper each day and they praise God for the gift they have found in one other. They can’t wait to be married and raise a family to the glory of God.