#walkerdowntheaisle

As many of you know, Ryan and I both continued our higher education at Huntington University. We both lived in Livingston Hall our freshman (and actually freshman-junior) year. I lived on “L1” and Ryan on “L3”. On a typical freshman year night I went on a spontaneous I-Hop run with a few friends, and when we got back we were hanging out in the lobby on “L3”. Ryan, being an “L3” resident, came out to the lobby and jumped right into the fun (typical people-loving Ryan). We were all making a fun game out of a random large bowl of extra accumulated Taco Bell sauces with different sayings on them that were acquired by Taco Bell runs from the guys on L3. Ryan of course was making us all laugh. Later that night when the group moved outdoors Ryan had a chance to talk to me individually. Ryan decided to play his cards on asking me where I was from eager to share his knowledge of various minor league baseball teams across the country. Little did we know that the minor league baseball team I grew up being closest to, attending games of, and sleeping on their field for church events, was the Erie Seawolves. A team that Ryan had known and followed his whole life being affiliated with his beloved Detroit Tigers. That was all the start to a much longer story, but the rest is history. So grateful for that night and the fact that I have video record of the exact date of the night we had met each other!

After a college winter break, Ryan and I had planned to meet up at the Fort Wayne mall prior to leaving for my mission trip to the Dominican Republic (we joke that I left the country for 2 weeks after this). Ryan did not have to be back at school for Huntington University J-term classes at this time so he drove from Michigan to spend a few hours with me at the mall. It was on this day that Ryan and I had officially started dating and pursing a relationship with each other. Little did we know at the start of 2020 that a few short months later we would go through a pandemic separating us with long distance and traveling restrictions before we could even process the long distance we would have normally entered into that summer after the spring semester. A trial we endured so unique. We know now that it was all a part of God’s plan to strengthen our relationship and teach us things.

After Ryan and I graduated college God opened up doors and led us to Decatur, Indiana, a place only 40 minutes away from Huntington University, the place where we met. Having to navigate both of our new jobs and officially moving away from our hometowns brought a lot of new challenges and growth for us to overcome together. We are fortunate enough to see God’s hand in it all and the blessings that have been present along the way. On February 25, 2023 Ryan and I had planned on attending a basketball game at Huntington University to visit some friends. Prior to arriving at our destination Ryan had stopped the car near some of the academic buildings where there are walking paths with a beautiful fountain many HU alumni are familiar with, and benches. There is one bench in particular that has significant meaning to us. Ryan asked me to go for a walk with him on campus while we visited. It was at this time as he led me right to that bench that the shock set in as to what was happening. If you’re reading this, you know the answer I gave to Ryan’s very important question to marry him!