Alex and I actually grew up only a block away from each other, yet somehow our paths never crossed. We went to different high schools, though we both knew of each other from a distance. It wasn’t until we both attended Southwest Mississippi Community College that we finally met. Alex was a drummer, and I was a dancer on Redline. We were also together in Stageband, and through rehearsals and performances, we began to truly get to know one another. At one point, Alex texted me and told me that he liked me. At the time, I wasn’t interested in pursuing anything more than friendship, but we continued to talk and remained close friends. That summer, he left to serve at FUGE Camps in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. During that time, I began to feel that he was too good for me and that I didn’t deserve someone like him, so I told him we shouldn’t keep talking. But the Lord had a different plan. Over time, I realized that Alex had been placed in my life for a reason. When we reconnected, I soon discovered what that reason was. In mid-July, Alex shared the true Gospel with me and helped lead me to the Lord. Through that experience, something incredible happened: Alex realized that while he had always known the Gospel in his head, he had never truly surrendered his own heart to Christ. Later that same week, he accepted Jesus Christ as his Savior as well. We learned together that knowing the Gospel intellectually is not the same as believing it in your heart. As Romans 10:9 says, “If you declare with your mouth, ‘Jesus is Lord,’ and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.” At the end of July, we began dating, choosing to build our relationship on the only true and lasting foundation, Christ. Over the years, we have certainly experienced ups and downs, but through it all, the Lord has remained at the center of our relationship. After almost three years together, on July 20, 2025, Alex asked me to be his wife. Looking back, we can clearly see how the Lord was guiding our story long before we ever realized it, from living a block apart as kids, to meeting in college, to ultimately leading one another closer to Him. We are so grateful for the way God has written our story, and we look forward with excitement and faith to all that He has in store for our future as we continue to abide in Him, just as He abides in us.