I started working at Chick-fil-a Saginaw way back in April of 2019. Normally, a love story doesn't start off sounding like the beginnings of a resume, but here we are. Two weeks after I started working some random homeschool boy gets hired as well. Technically, this is where our story begins. In reality, however, we need to fast forward a year or so to get to the good parts (unless of course you really really care about cfa's speed of service and drive thru operations)

DNow of my senior year was coming and I was talking at work about it to two of my friends in the hopes that I could convince them to come. Reagan overheard and asked what I was talking about, so I share and extended an invite for him to come. Spoiler alert: he came and we had a great time.

After DNow weekend, Reagan began to be very very VERY obvious in the fact that he liked me. I was in denial for a while, but when I realized he wasn't going anywhere I fell hard for him. He taught me how to dance in the parking lot after late night shifts together. He gave me plenty of movie recommendations and books to read. We went to prom together and color coordinated (and yes we took the infamous prom pose picture while there). On the Monday after prom, he FINALLY worked up the guts to actually ask me out. The summer of 2021 was one of the best summers I've ever had. We got to do all of the fun lasts that seniors do before going to college together. From summer camp to VBS to family vacations we got to do it all.

Now I wish I could say everything everything was sunshine and rainbows, but I'd be lying. In the first semester of my freshman year, I was completely overwhelmed trying to balance new relationships and old relationships alongside classes and a job. Something had to go. Unfortunately, that something was Reagan. He and I were apart for six months before getting back together. Those six months I learned a lot about trusting whole heartedly in what the Lord has for me. God proved time and time again that He was (and always is) in control. God is faithful and kind and brought Reagan and I back together in April of 2022 Since then, it hasn't been completely sunshine and rainbows, but it's been pretty close and I'm excited how God continues to lead us.

Zadie and I first met in May of 2019 right after we started working at Chick-fil-A Saginaw. Zadie doesn’t remember it, but the first time I ever formally introduced myself was two weeks after I had started working when we were both in the walk-in fridge grabbing something to bring back up to the front of the store. Although I would love to say this is where it all began, our story did not actually begin until 2020.

This is where our story actually begins. It was a normal night at Chick-fil-A Saginaw right after Thanksgiving. I don’t remember what I was doing that night, but I remember looking up and seeing Zadie bagging drive-thru. Up to that day I had never paid much attention to Zadie and I merely considered her a co-worker. However, in that moment it was like God had shone a light on her and said “Pssst Reagan…here’s a beautiful young woman who loves me and truly seeks to honor and glorify me in everything she does. You should pursue this fine godly, young woman.” And that is when I began to really pay attention to Zadie and a HUGE crush formed. After that moment, I made it my mission to get to know her better and began going to church with her and some of my other friends from work. Zadie and all of our friends will tell you that I was blatantly obvious even though I thought I was being smooth.

Not only did I begin going to church with Zadie during senior year, but senior year marked another milestone in me and Zadie’s relationship: Prom. As a homeschooler, I had never been to prom and never really had any desire to go before then. However, being that it was senior year and Zadie really wanted to go, Zadie and I thought it would be fun to go with some of our other friends as a group and coordinate colors. However, leading up to prom, I learned a very sad fact: Zadie did not know how to dance. So guess what I did being my generous, kind, and smooth self? I quickly seized the opportunity to teach her how to dance. During that season, I remember staying late after work, walking Zadie to her car, and teaching her how to dance in the Chick-fil-A parking lot. And guess who I color coordinated with for prom…yep you guessed it. It was the girl I had a HUGE crush on named Zadie McCraw. Prom came and it was an absolute blast! Although we did not get to use any of our two step moves that we had practiced in the Chick-fil-A parking lot, we still had a great time with each other and with our friends and let me just say…me and Zadie looked fantastic in our outfits. However, one thing was still missing: I had yet to work up the courage to finally ask Zadie out on an official date. Thankfully, the day after prom, I mustered up the courage and asked Zadie if she wanted to go out with me and she said yes in the most Zadie way possible. Rather than saying yes like any other girl, Zadie’s response was “It’s about time!!”

The summer after Zadie and I made it official was an absolute blast! Not only did we spend as much time together as possible, but I even got invited on the McCraw family Fourth of July vacation to her grandparents house in Mississippi. However, summer was bound to come to an end and it was time for Zadie to begin college in Mississippi while I stayed home in Texas. Sadly, after the semester started Zadie became stressed with all of the college things and decided that it was too much trying to balance a relationship on top of everything else. So in October of 2021 Zadie and I broke up, and to this day, that was the hardest thing that either of us has ever experienced.

Zadie and I were broken up from October of 2021-April of 2022 and those six months following the break up were some of the hardest months I have ever experienced in my life. However, I knew that I loved Zadie and deep down in my heart I knew that Zadie was the one that I wanted to spend the rest of my life with. Even though this season was tremendously hard, this was also a season of true growth and maturity and it reminded me of the importance of leaning into God and remembering that he is faithful and that his plan is what is best no matter the outcome.

Thankfully, the story did not end there. Our break up did not last long and God brought Zadie and I back together in April of 2022. Since then it has not been easy and long distance still sucks, but Zadie and I have loved every second of it and we cannot wait to begin this next step of our journey together and to continue to experience God’s goodness and faithfulness every step of the way. Now it is no longer Reagan Shockey and Zadie McCraw. From now on it is Team Shockey against the world.