Mat and I have ~technically~ known one another our whole lives. Or I should really say "were vaguely aware of each other". We both grew up at Three Rivers Church and our families were close. That vague awareness was where the familiarity ended. In September of 2017, I joined the Junior High youth ministry as a volunteer leader. Mat runs the youth group. While I had gained some wonderful new friends who also helped with the youth group, also began a new friendship with Mat as we got to know each other every Tuesday night. We can blame Peter Vienne III (TRC's associate pastor and youth pastor) for this since he was the one who asked me to join youth ministry. I have to admit that while our friendship was in the early stages, I was mildly intimidated by Mat since he was one of the oldest of the leaders and he was the one running the youth group. I thought he was way out way league! The summer of 2018, I noticed that he began to take more interest in me and our friendship had been steadily growing. I thought I was imagining things when I wondered what this new turn in our friendship meant. Lo and behold, Mat took the jump one evening and admitted his feelings for me! I was absolutely stoked (and surprised). After admitting my feelings back, the first thing I did was call my best friend Alice (my maid of honor) and tell her everything. She's the best. Mat and I officially started dating August 18th of 2018 and have been happily together ever since. We have spent our time together deepening our relationship with each other and our friends through serving our Lord in youth ministry and meeting with one another in our small group. Our involvement with TRC and our commitment above one another to glorify God is what brought us together and what holds as a foundation in our relationship. Most importantly, it is God who brought us together and who sustains us.