Forever is just around the corner...

I (Yodani) don't think either of us knows the exact date that we met, but it definitely involved our shared love for God. We have been a part of the same community group aka Bible study since May 2018. I was a co-leader of the group at the time and JJ was a faithful and active member. During 2019, the community group started getting closer and closer. Come summertime, we found ourselves outside week after week talking long after everyone else had left. After a few months of encounters where we both enjoyed the other's company but hesitated to speak up, JJ finally made the move. On November 19, in that same parking lot, JJ asked me the best question, "Could you ever see our relationship going beyond friendship?" After a quick reply of "Yes", we left and made it official on November 24, 2019, and he's had my "yes" ever since... Man time flies!!

It all started in October. It was just a feeling, but God had made clear to me that Yodani was the person that I wanted to spend the rest of my life on earth with. I was at the house of my best friend's family, The Munoz, and it was on that October evening that I decided to let someone know what I was thinking. I told them that "I am going to be looking for rings in December." Fast-forward a few months to December, I have a week off of work. I use this week to meet up with and ask Yodani's mom, Momma Windy, for permission and to let my parents know. They were all so quick to celebrate with me and show their love and support. With those important conversations done I begin the process of finding and selecting the perfect ring for someone as incredible as Yodani Janesh Powell. A week or so into the search I find a ring, and I am immediately drawn to it. Like her it is beautiful, intricate and radiant! I had to get it, so right then and there, I buy the ring. Now onto the plan. 2020 had been a hard year for everyone, and so I wanted to close out the year that would never end on a high note, and New Years Eve seemed to be the perfect opportunity. December 31st is approaching much too quickly for my liking and I'm freaking out. I gather up our photos, cards, gifts, and some candles and lay them out in one of my rooms to create a timeline of our relationship that leads to a single table with more of the same on it. We were having some friends over at my place on New Years Eve, and I excuse myself from the prep, to initiate the plan. I change into a suit with a bow tie, and I walk downstairs. Yodani looks up from what she is doing, furrows her brow and says "I think you are doing a lot for new years." I convince her to follow me and I bring her to the decorated room. She remains just as confused, but when we get to the end of the timeline, I get down on one knee and pop the question "Can I be your major life change? Yodani, will you marry me?" And the rest is history.