Sam first met Traci at her place when she was having people over to play pickleball at her courts. They quickly became friends through church and their mutual love of pickleball, where they, along with their friends, would pickle until their legs were wobbly and they would all grab dinner afterwards. As they spent more time together and the group's relationships with one another deepened, the dinner conversations went from talking about the latest pickleball tip discovered on YouTube to opening up about what God was doing in their lives. Over the course of a year and a half, these dinners laid a solid foundation for a friendship between Traci and Sam that began to reveal more of who they were to each other. Over time, Sam’s addiction to pickleball quickly began to skyrocket, and he began to train for tournaments. Wanting to play mixed doubles with someone from church, Sam asked Traci if she'd like to be his partner in a tournament, to which she ecstatically agreed. While they were very much still friends at the time, she described the moment to their friends as "being asked to go to prom." Sam and Traci began to spend more time together as training began. They'd wake up in the morning three days a week to drill before work (a certain accountant friend doubted Traci’s ability to wake up on time), and their friendship progressed to where they became more and more comfortable with each other. Sam and Traci’s feelings for each other quickly grew during Sam’s birthday weekend when they, along with another close friend, went to play pickleball on the National Mall. After this weekend, Sam and Traci found their drilling time switching to the evenings, which then led to dinner afterwards, which then led to talking late into the night. After a few of these extended hangouts, Sam asked Traci if she would like to start dating, to which she agreed. (Traci here - he broke all dating advice rules and asked me what my marriage timeline was in that initial conversation 😆) Traci’s car battery then promptly died and Sam’s first act of service towards Traci as her boyfriend was jump starting her car in rubber cleaning gloves. From there, things moved fast—Christian stereotype fast. Seven months later, Sam proposed to Traci on May 1st, 2025, at the D.C. War Memorial. Back in week two of dating, Traci had mentioned how she would’ve loved to get married there—but the venue was too small. Sam tucked that detail away, knowing it meant a lot to her. Even though the wedding couldn’t happen there, he figured the proposal could. Traci had *somewhat* of a clue it was going to happen when he suggested they start sprinting to make it to that specific monument before sunset. Sam and Traci are increasingly humbled by God’s grace and kindness in their relationship as they reflect on the moments where He has been present and how their friends and family have poured out their love and support for them. They can see how God has worked in each of them to sanctify the other and how He has also used the people around them to draw them closer to Him. They look forward to their marriage where they can serve His kingdom together and continue to pour out His love and grace to those around them.