Wayne and Stacey met in high school through mutual friends. Wayne, a senior, developed a crush on Stacey, a sophomore. One day, at the end of his high school career, Wayne asked Stacey to be his prom date. To his disappointment, she said no. With different friend groups and different hobbies, there were few opportunities to speak how he felt before he graduated. God said, "Not yet". Alas, graduation day came and the two went on living their separate lives. Several years passed and Wayne received a random message request. It was from Stacey, his high school crush. They began talking by catching up on the previous years and then getting to know each other. Just as Stacey started to feel something for Wayne, she was pulled in another direction, causing the two to end communication. God said, "Not yet". [[I know... this sounds like a love story that you love to hate, but just wait]] After another few years, in 2020, Stacey reached out to Wayne again. Wayne proceeded with caution and noticed that this time was different. Different it was. They talked constantly, hung out often, and started sharing more personal details about their lives with one another. 6 months after their reunion, on October 16, Wayne called Stacey his girlfriend for the first time. It caught Stacey off guard, but making eye contact they both smiled at each other with blushing faces. That day, Stacey went home and asked her parents earnestly to pray for him, because "this is the one". God said, "OK". Wayne and Stacey fell in love and, after 3 years, finally got engaged in May 2024. Here's how he did it 🥰: We like to walk the trail at the McHenry Dam. It has lots of wildlife and beautiful wetland views. We stopped at one of the overlooks that look out to a lake that had a family of swans peacefully gliding across the water. Wayne said, "We should probably put in our dinner pickup order before we get back to the car". While I was distracted, ordering food on my phone, he got down on one knee behind me and pulled my hand to turn around. Before he could even say anything, I excitedly yelled "Yes" so many times that I lost count 😆 When he could finally get a word out, Wayne asked me to do him the honor of being his wife. Of course, we know the answer 😍 Today, we both have an ever-growing relationship with Jesus Christ, which draws us even closer with each other every day. God is faithful!!