In April, 2025, during the Feast of Matzah, I went on a three-week working vacation that took me through Michigan, the Ozarks, Tulsa and Dallas while camping and visiting friends and family along the way. While in Tulsa, I was invited over for Friday night dinner by Trevor and Krissy Dennis, whom I’d met at Sukkot several years earlier. Krissy and Trevor also invited Brittney over on that same Friday night. As that weekend progressed, I got to see Brittney at church and then again on Sunday when the Dennises invited us to go to the Gathering Place and for lunch afterward. While I hadn’t gotten to talk with her in depth by the end of Sunday, she seemed like someone I’d like to get to know better, and I was particularly impressed after learning from her friends that she had taken care of her grandparents full-time for several years after both parents passed. So, on Monday (my last full day in Tulsa) I asked Brittney if she’d be interested in meeting up for dinner and a beer. She was really open and easy to converse with and it turned out that we had a lot in common (we were both homeschooled, our faith journeys followed similar trajectories, and we both grew up in large, close families). We ended up grabbing coffee after dinner and walking around for a while, not really wanting the evening to end. After parting ways that evening, I reflected on how interesting Brittney was and how I wished she lived close enough to get to know her better. However, at that time, I wasn’t ready to start a distance relationship after just spending a couple days together, so after that trip, I went on my way and didn’t follow up with Brittney any further. Thankfully, God is very good, so it happened that Brittney and I both ended up in Park City, UT for Sukkot in October. I found out a few weeks ahead of the Feast that Brittney would be there too, and reached out to say hi, intending to make the most of that week to get to know her better. And get to know each other we did! After the first couple days, we hung out at some point for almost every day of the Feast and we both got to meet each other’s families. By the end of the week, I had made tentative plans to visit Brittney in Tulsa a few weeks later (for my part, I was pretty sure that Brittney was that woman I wanted to marry by the end of the Feast!). After a two-week visit to Tulsa in early November, we had already broached the topic of marriage, so when Brittney came out to Washington to visit over the Thanksgiving weekend, I proposed (and she accepted)! If there is anything that is clear to me like never before, it’s that God is so abundantly good and that his timing is perfect! For many years now, I’ve found comfort and inspiration in Lamentations 3:22-24: "The LORD’S acts of mercy indeed do not end, for his compassions do not fail. They are new every morning. Great is Your faithfulness. 'The LORD is my portion,' says my soul, 'Therefore I wait for Him.'" Brittney struck me as someone who had the Lord as her portion, who didn’t need a man to be fulfilled and was content to wait for God. For my part, I can say without hesitation that Brittney was worth waiting for!

When Krissy Dennis invited me to dinner at her house because she and Trevor had a friend coming to town, I thought it would be a nice opportunity to spend time with the Dennis and Steel families and I'm always up for meeting new people. After we confirmed the time and date Krissy did a little dance and sang "and he's single" with a smile on her face, then immediately tried to rescind what she said but it was too late! I heard it. I had a wonderful time at dinner with my friends and this tall stranger who I had a great deal in common with. I was also glad to see him again at church the next day. Saturday evening I was encouraged by my friends to ask if anything was planned for the next day with Kirk. Krissy said they hadn't planned anything but jumped right on it and invited everyone for an outing. I was grateful for the opportunity to talk to Kirk some more. I made sure through our group texts that he knew which number was mine, just in case he wanted to know, you know, for some reason. On Monday he invited me to dinner (was it a date? I didn't know). I had a lovely time and was continually surprised by how similar certain aspects of our lives were and how much I liked what he had to say. I thought to myself over and over, "I didn't know someone like him existed." The theme of my relationship with God for all of 2025 was trust. Trust God. When my grandpa died in February, my life changed a lot. He was the last parent/grandparent I had and it was the ending of something big in my life. I had become fairly sure and quite content and accepting of the thought that God intended me for singleness. I was not actively trying to change that in any way. Meeting Kirk made me wonder if God had something else in store for me. When Kirk left Tulsa and we had no plans to keep in touch (for my part, because of the great distance) I felt quite sad that I might not ever see him again. But I trusted that God would work His will in my life regardless of what I planned, so I didn't try to change or pursue anything, trusting that God would lead me where I should go. I believe God placed us both together right when and where we should be. It didn't take long to truly know that we wanted to be together. At the very beginning of the Feast I wasn't sure if he was interested in me or just being polite and friendly. By the end of the Feast we had met each other's families and had plans to see each other after the Feast. I had no idea he had thoughts of marriage at this point because I was still wondering how to define what we were doing and settled on the generic phrase, "we are dating." So it was a surprise when we were sitting outside in the sunshine after he had been in Tulsa about four days and he said, "I'm trying hard not to propose right now." I had, of course, thought of the possibility of marrying him one day but I had no idea that's where his head was. After the electric shock to my brain subsided, I told him not to propose right now because I would probably say yes.

At the end of his trip to Tulsa he asked for my ring size. Two weeks later I was in Washington. I had wondered briefly if he was going to propose and then put the thought out of my head. Even if he wanted to, I assumed the ring he ordered wasn't ready. I decided not to put any sort of expectations on my trip. I simply wanted to enjoy Thanksgiving with his family. The day after Thanksgiving, we got out very early to drive to Mount Storm King. It was a chilly, sunny day. We arrived at the location and walked through the gorgeous forest before heading up the mountain. The trek was a bit daunting for a novice like myself but Kirk was patient with me and set a gentle pace that made it possible for me to follow. We got up to an overlook, not quite at the top, when I finally asked what was inside Kirk's backpack. I thought it must be some interesting kit for the mountain or first aid supplies. He opened it briefly to grab something and I saw...whipped cream? He said it was stuffed with picnic supplies and there was no room for anything else. This gave me pause and I thought, "Wait a minute...is he going to propose?" "Is that a proposal picnic?" and then I shook my head and let it drop, trying not to imagine things that may not be true. The last leg of the hike pushed those thoughts out of my head as I held on to the ropes to make it up to the very top (Kirk didn't even need to use them). We finally made it to the very top ridge, revealing stunning views in every direction. It was calm and peaceful and sunny and worth every second of muscle pain I was going to have for the next four days. After taking it all in I sat down for a moment while Kirk paused in thought and then bent down on one knee with lake Crescent behind him. The world stopped for a few moments while he spoke and I agreed with all my heart to his proposal. Kirk is thoughtful and kind and incredibly wise. I love to hear his thoughts on anything and everything. He is the one I didn't know I was waiting for. I trust that the God we both serve will be with us and lead us, I pray, in every aspect of our relationship and our lives. I would ask that you pray this for us as well. If you made it this far, thank you for caring enough to read my incredibly long (soon to be even longer!) story. We love you all and are thankful for every one of you.