it was always you

One summer before junior year of high school, a mutual friend invited us to a pool party at his parent's house. Billy immediately grabbed my attention. I had never met him, and he was so cute and so funny. A few days later, I texted our mutual friend and asked him who that guy Billy was and quickly found out he was going to be attending my school junior year. I don't know if anyone is ever excited for school to start, but, that year, I could barely wait. Billy found me in the gym during orientation and came up to me to introduce himself. He thought I was super cute and knew he wanted me to be his girlfriend immediately. We got to know each other quickly and became inseparable shortly after that. Billy was constantly taking me on dates, spending time at my house, and eating all of the food my mom cooked. He was always kind, attentive, and gentle with me, a treasured piece of my formative years. We went our separate ways in college, and life continued on for the next sixteen years. We would regularly text each other on major holidays and birthdays, but nothing beyond a "Happy Birthday" or "Merry Christmas." At the end of June 2024, Billy popped back into my mind...aggressively. I began praying about what God wanted for my life and if Billy was part of that, but I felt a very strong "wait" in my spirit. So I continued to pray every time I thought about him (which was frequent), knowing that God had a plan. One day, in my frustration, I told God that if Billy texted me on my birthday, then I would know that it was okay to move in that direction. If he didn't text me, I would move on. My birthday rolled around, and I hadn't heard from him. So I went to bed, and I told God "okay, I will move on." I rolled over to check my phone before I went to sleep, and there was a message from him on my FaceBook that said "yo dude! happy birthday!" He had no idea what that message meant! I responded the next day, and it immediately felt like we never missed a second of time with each other. Dating Billy a second time feels so similar to the first time. He is the same, but also, he is so much better. He says the same about me. Over the past 16 years, God has been molding us into exactly who we were meant to be for each other. Now, here we are. Preparing to walk down aisle and commit to a lifetime together. Full of so much laughter, full of so many joyful moments, full of literally so much love. I always thought Billy hung the moon. I'm thankful that I get to spend the rest of my life admiring it.