My life has always been shaped by a deep desire for family. As a young boy, I experienced the pain of divorce in my household. At the time, I didn’t fully understand what divorce meant, and I didn’t know God personally. But even then, something inside me recognized that our home was no longer standing on the standard God intended for marriage. In that moment of childhood innocence, I made a quiet promise to God: If I ever got married, I would never leave my wife. And if I ever had children, I would never leave them. For many years, that promise stayed in the back of my mind while I lived my life focused more on the world than on Christ. Everything changed on August 19, 2024, when I gave my life fully to Jesus and was baptized. From that point forward, my understanding of marriage transformed. I began to see the beauty and power of a Christ-centered covenant, not just as something I desired for my own life, but as something God Himself designed. I began dating with a new mindset—seeking not just companionship, but someone I could enter into covenant with under God. None of those relationships worked out, and eventually I realized the answer wasn’t simply to search harder. So I turned fully to God. At the beginning of the year, I committed to a 40-day fast, bringing one question before the Lord: “Have I found the woman you have for me, or is she still somewhere you are preparing?” What followed was a season of separation, isolation, and preparation. I spent time with God in a way I never had before—learning to hear His voice and draw close to Him daily. At the time, I didn’t even know much about the Book of Job, but in hindsight, that season felt very similar: a period where God stripped away distractions so I could know Him more intimately. Then one day, the Lord told me to move to another church. When I obeyed and visited The Outpouring of Christ in April, something extraordinary happened. The very first day I walked in, I heard a voice singing during worship. It sounded almost angelic. I didn’t know who she was, but something in my spirit stirred immediately. Standing in the lobby afterward, I said a simple prayer to God: “Whoever that woman is… that’s my wife.” Over time, as I continued attending and serving at the church, God began doing powerful things in my life. I was filled with the Holy Spirit, and my hunger for God deepened. As I pursued Him wholeheartedly, God began revealing something unexpected through dreams and confirmations. Again and again, the same name appeared. Carla. One dream. Then another. Then another confirmation. Eventually, I knew God was revealing the woman He had prepared for me. When I finally shared my testimony and the first dream with Carla, something incredible happened—we discovered that our stories were remarkably similar. It was as if God had been preparing us both long before we ever met. As we continued serving together at church, we grew closer through ministry and fellowship. In time, I was asked to join the worship team, which allowed us to spend even more time together. Looking back, it’s clear that God was orchestrating every step. Piece by piece, He was forming something bigger than either of us could have planned. Shortly after spending more time together, Carla started to have dreams about me as well. God gave her confirmations of who I was to her. Eventually, I asked Carla to be my girlfriend, and from that point forward, we have walked side by side—serving the same Lord, pursuing the same purpose, and preparing for the life God is building through us. Today, we believe our relationship is not simply a love story—it’s a testimony of God’s providence. A reminder that when we surrender our plans and pursue God first, He is faithful to bring the right people, the right purpose, and the right timing together. This is how Carla and I began our journey toward becoming the Doss family—a story written not by coincidence, but by the loving hand of God.

Skyler and I met at church. One day, he started showing up. Our church is fairly intimate, so it’s easy to notice when someone new walks in. At the time, I had absolutely no romantic interest—I was simply happy to see a new face joining the community. I noticed that he quickly started helping with setup and serving wherever needed. Naturally, I assumed he must already know my pastor or someone in the congregation. But when I asked around, no one actually knew who he was. That caught my attention. It made me curious because he wasn’t just visiting—he was already serving. That told me something about his heart. I introduced myself to him that day, and he seemed very shy. He rarely looked me in the eye when we were around each other. Later, he would jokingly tell me that it was intentional because he didn’t want me to fall in love too quickly by looking into his honey-brown eyes. Whether that’s true or not, I’ll let you decide! At the time, my heart was completely focused on Jesus, and I was very content, waiting for God's perfect timing for a man to pursue me. One evening after Bible study, a group of young adults decided to go to Raising Cane’s together. While we were there, I started noticing that Skyler would quietly slip away for a while and then come back. I found myself wondering where he kept disappearing to. Eventually I discovered the reason: he had been stepping outside to evangelize and share the gospel with people, praying with them, and winning souls for Jesus. In that moment, I saw clearly that Skyler wasn’t just someone who attended church—he truly loved God and cared deeply about people knowing Him. That was the moment I recognized that he was a genuine man of God, so I began to pray and ask God what He thinks about Skyler. From there, we slowly began talking more and getting to know one another. Skyler pursued me with sincerity and intention. I was amazed by how thoughtful he was and how genuinely he desired to spend time with me and learn my heart. His pursuit wasn’t casual or careless—it was consistent, respectful, and very intentional (with a lot of gifts 🥰). Not long after we started getting closer, he had to leave for a 10-day trip to Kenya. Those ten days felt incredibly long. During that time he was gone, the Lord confirmed it was him when I started having many dreams about him. It surprised me how much I missed him while he was gone, and that’s when I realized that my feelings had grown much deeper than I expected. I was falling in love. Ironically, in the beginning I had actually tried to avoid that possibility. To be honest, his fashion choices made me cringe a little at first. His signature look included polo shirts, jogger pants, and what I can only describe as pirate boots! Thankfully, the Lord gave me the wisdom and maturity to realize that someone’s outfits are definitely not a valid reason to reject a man with a heart for God. Looking back now, I’m grateful for that revelation. After just 4 months of meeting Skyler, he asked me to be his girlfriend, and from that point forward, we have walked side by side. So, to the women who are in their waiting season. Trust God. I almost said no to Skyler because I thought I knew what I wanted, but God had something far better for me than I could have chosen on my own. In your single season, pursue God wholeheartedly and intentionally. As you do, you will find that the right person will meet you in that place of purpose and surrender. It is truly worth the wait. Skyler is a man who is loving, patient, teachable, wise, intentional, and generous. He protects my purity, honors the Lord in how he loves me, and my life is genuinely better because he is in it. Our wedding day has been long-awaited, yet perfectly timed by God. One of the things that makes this day even more special is that we have chosen to wait to share our very first kiss until our wedding day. I cannot wait for that moment. All glory to God for writing this beautiful love story.