“Growing up together our friendship stood strong; little did we know, love had been there all along.” -Rachel Smith We’re the kind of love story that had been childhood friends since primary school. Always laughing and goofing around, having no idea what God had in store for us. On the first day of 8th grade, I took a glimpse at Blake walking down the hallway. This was the first time I had seen him since summer break let out, and I’ll never forget this moment. I can still picture him in that moment as if I had just experienced it yesterday. He had a huge growth spurt over summer break. When I saw him, it was almost like at that exact moment we grew out of those little kids who were just friends. We aren’t your typical “Love at First Sight” story. We had been friends for a very long time, but this time when I glanced at Blake God had reviled something to me. I saw Blake in a very different way that day, and to me, it was love at first sight. The following week, the second week of 8th grade, I told my teacher that I had a crush on Blake Mathis. When Blake had her class, she told him, “The person who sits here has a crush on you.” Soon after this, Blake found out it was me who sat in the seat she was talking about. Our friendship had grown even closer with him finding out about the crush I had on him, we sat together at lunch all week. Fast forward to Friday night, at the high school football game, we were hanging out together with our friends until it started to rain. My parents decided to leave, so I was telling everyone bye, but Blake followed me. Blake stopped me and told me he had a question. When I asked him what it was he said, “Will you be my girlfriend?” Having a crush on him, I of course said, “Yes!” The rest was history! Our love grew stronger, and before long we knew God had made us for each other. We never once left each other’s side throughout all the highs and lows of growing up. We’re each other’s best friend, soulmate, and home. Our love to us is an undeniable match made up in heaven. 7 years later, we’re getting MARRIED, just as we have imagined since we were 13 years old. We cannot wait to promise to God to now love each other for the rest of our lives.