Our story began with brief glances across the court, because whenever Jesus would get there to play, it seemed to be the very moment I was leaving. For a while, we existed in those near-misses. Little did we know, God had already started writing our story then. Eventually, we found ourselves on the court together, learning each other’s names - well, almost. Jesus tried out every J-name he could think of before finally landing on Judy (he’s forgiven). We didn’t know when we’d meet again, and so our shared love for pickleball quietly became our excuse to hopefully see each other and learn more about one another as friends. Before numbers were exchanged, there was time to talk, to laugh, to notice the way each of us treated others. In those small, unguarded moments, we began to see the light in one another, and through it, the shape of each other’s character. Then, on a Sunday night, sparks were flying again like every other time! When our telepathic capabilities were exhausted—Jesus found the courage to ask for my number. As we walked to our cars separately, he literally came running to catch me (we both love to revisit this story)! When he caught up to me, he made the first move by asking me out to dinner, in a moment that felt like we were in a movie! Since then, we’ve been inseparable, trusting that God is still writing a story for us—one more beautiful than we could have imagined.