"In Hebrew, there's this word Ahava, and it's a godsend as we learn about love. In English, we have just one word - love - to denote a wide range of positive emotions, but in Hebrew, there's a handful, and each one draws out a specific nuance... At the climax of the poem called Song of Songs, there's a moving stanza... Place me like a seal over your heart, like a seal on your arm; for Ahava is as strong as death, its jealousy unyielding as the grave. It burns like blazing fire, like a mighty flame. Many waters cannot quench Ahava; rivers cannot sweep it away." The point of the poetry is that Ahava is strong. Feelings, no matter how vivid, in the long run, are weak. They come and go. But Ahava has resolve. Staying power. It has the word that we all tend to avoid – commitment. Over time, it builds up a head of steam, and it breaks through every obstacle. It is a love of the heart, and a love of the will. - John Mark Comer Like many couples, Michael and Kim were introduced to each other through a dating app in May of 2023. From the start, their connection felt easy—playful, genuine, and rooted in the joy of doing life as a team - a theme that would continue to shape their relationship in the years ahead. As they began conversing, they discovered that Michael and Kim’s brother, Jack, were both stationed at Little Creek, and that Jack had graduated from the Naval Academy just two years after Michael. At the time, both Michael and Kim were active duty, stationed in Virginia Beach. Michael was approaching his separation from the Navy, and Kim had spent the previous two years at Naval Medical Center Portsmouth before receiving orders to San Diego for her next tour. Before ever meeting the limited degrees of separation sparked a friendly competition (a bet) to see who could guess the other’s last name first. Michael had assumed Jack had a Naval Special Warfare background since they were both stationed at Little Creek, which gave him a lot of confidence that he’d win the bet. Kim, on the other hand, was slightly discouraged by Michael’s complete lack of social media presence, but optimistic that her own deduction skills would carry her through. The competition lasted about a week. Michael headed to his good friends Robert and Lindsay’s wedding at the Naval Academy that weekend and made a stop at the library, flipping through old Lucky Bag yearbooks in hopes of finding Kim and Jack’s last name. Meanwhile, Kim took to the internet. After several failed attempts—mostly involving YouTube graduation videos—she eventually stumbled on a C‑SPAN archive titled “Naval Academy Graduation Class of 2015.” The video was two and a half hours long. She paused, questioned her life choices, and then pressed play. Knowing only Michael’s company number after a short period of time, she identified two “Michaels” in 14th Company, searched for one name and found a single photo of freshman Michael FitzGibbon - victory. Without realizing it, she also found the last name she’d be taking as her own almost exactly three years later. By July of 2023, they were officially dating and learning to walk alongside one another—prayerfully asking, seeking, and discerning what the Lord had for their future together. That fall, after Michael accepted his first civilian job, they decided he would work remotely and move with Kim to San Diego after his separation. In March of 2024, less than a year into dating, they made their first cross‑country move together to begin a new chapter on the West Coast. The years since, have been marked by the building of a deep love and a deep friendship—one shaped by Ahava love: covenantal, active, faithful, and sacrificial. Their story is one of grace upon grace, held together by the faithfulness of Christ. They are profoundly grateful to share this next step with you as they enter the calling of covenantal marriage.