We’re Getting Married!

It all started in the most ordinary place—a neighborhood Kroger. I was fifteen, tagging along with my mom on a grocery run, and he was sixteen, working an afternoon shift. He handed us a cart, smiled, and told us to have a good shopping trip. I had no idea that simple moment would change my life. A little later he found me on social media, reached out, and that’s where our story really began. I was hesitant at first. I had never been in love or even in a real relationship, and I didn’t know what to think of this sweet, confident boy who already seemed so sure about me. He, on the other hand, was all in from the start. With a little help from my best friend—and a lot of patience on his part—I finally let my guard down. That summer became one of my favorites: rodeos, late-night ice cream trips, church revivals, and spending nearly every day together. Then on August 29, 2021, junior year of high school, he handed me a note in the church parking lot. I “checked yes,” and we officially became boyfriend and girlfriend. That year was full of laughter and first memories, but like many young relationships, we eventually came to a stop just before senior year—kids being kids, still growing and figuring life out. For the next two and a half years we didn’t talk, both of us carrying a quiet sadness and a void we couldn’t quite explain. Looking back, that emptiness was simply the absence of each other. A couple of years, a couple of relationships, and a lot of life lessons later, we found our way back during my sophomore year of college. I was away at school and he was working in our hometown. We were both a little hurt, a little lost, and unaware that what we were missing was the person we used to know so well. We started talking again, relearning who we had become, sharing the ups and downs we had missed in each other’s lives. Then one night he drove all the way to my school just to tell me he loved me and wanted to be with me forever, through everything. I was scared to reopen something that had once brought so much joy—and so much pain—but I began to see our time apart in a different light. Those years were necessary. They helped us grow into the young adults we needed to be and showed us just how important we were to each other. After months of talking, healing, and choosing one another again, on November 24, 2024, we became boyfriend and girlfriend for the second time. Since then there have been highs and lows, but we have faced them side by side, stronger and more certain than ever. And now, here we are—getting married. We can’t wait to see what God has in store for our future and to continue the story that began with a simple cart and a kind smile