***Make sure to bring cash for the money dance!

Joy and Seth met at Columbia International University in Columbia, South Carolina. Joy was a student-athlete at CIU and was beginning her Junior year upon Seth's arrival. Seth was an incoming freshman student-athlete at the University who was a whopping 18 years old with no facial hair and a baby face. Somehow despite these intangibles, Seth caught this bayou girl's eye from a distance. What Joy did not know is that she herself caught Seth's eyes as well. Joy caught Seth's eyes so much so that he quickly became googly-eyed over her and quickly asked his baseball buddies, "Who the heck is that girl?! Following this statement, Seth said, "Man, I might have to ask her out." Through word of mouth, Seth found out that Joy was a strong Christian woman who genuinely loved Jesus with all her heart. Seth was even more intrigued by this newfound information because he himself became a Christian a year before his attendance at the University. Seth's curiosity about Joy and her faith led him to ask several questions about God. These questions asked by Seth then led to deep, meaningful talks with Joy. Though they developed a friendship, they weren't necessarily close. That lack of closeness changed quickly the following school year. During Joy's senior year and Seth's sophomore year, late-night waffle house runs, competitive pool play, and time volunteering together at a local youth ministry brought these two closer. It was the development of a great friendship that, for Seth, would turn into much more. The desire in Seth's heart to pursue Joy kept coming about and eventually led him to ask Joy out a week prior before the school's Christmas break. He was rejected, but the friendship continued to thrive despite Joy heading back to her hometown of Baton Rouge, Louisiana, and Seth back to his hometown of Tallahassee, Florida. Upon the two's arrival back to campus for their spring semester, Seth couldn't shake the reality of Joy graduating and, in his eyes, being gone forever. Seth opened up his heart to Joy, and Joy, in the same token, opened her heart up to Seth. Despite Joy's resistance to Seth's pursuit, at times, his persistence helped her realize his love for her, but it was God that brought Joy and Seth together a couple days after her graduation from Columbia International University. This here is the story of how God brought two southern babies together for the journey of a lifetime.