We're getting married!!

I met Tamia on Tinder in 2020 at a time when I wasn’t looking for anything serious. I was overweight, struggling mentally, and honestly, at one of the lowest points in my life. We started texting, and while I didn’t think much of it, she had already told herself I was going to be her boyfriend long before I realized what God was doing. After a few weeks of conversation, she said something like, “We’ve been talking for a while but still haven’t met in person,” which led us to plan our first date at an escape room. I drove from Westchester to the Bronx, questioning the whole way why I was even making that trip (I’ve never liked driving in the city). But God knew—because that night, when I saw her bright, genuine smile and experienced her personality, something inside me shifted. She had a neck injury at the time, so she couldn’t really move her head, and I teased her about it by giving her the nickname “stiffy” (thankfully, she could take a joke). Even though I was sweating bullets, we had a great time, shared good conversations, and acted like we had known each other for years. When the date ended, she got out of the car, closed the door, and dabbed me up through the window like one of my homeboys. I was slightly confused—I had never ended a date like that before—but despite my confusion, I felt peace and a joy I hadn’t experienced in a long time. Deep down, I knew God had planted something real between us. On our second date, I leaned in for a kiss, and she pulled my mask up, laughing in my face after I asked if she even found me attractive (she was just nervous). She told me she had never kissed anyone before, and while I didn’t believe her at first, that moment made me realize God was preserving her heart for the right person and the right time. Before I knew it, I was driving an hour and a half to meet her family and to build a gingerbread house—still questioning how I got to this point and why I was driving so far for a girl I had only known a few months. But every time I asked myself why, God answered through the joy she brought me. My parents already started calling her my girlfriend, my friends noticed I was wearing turtlenecks, and I realized God was softening my heart even as I tried to fight it. Looking back now, I know it wasn’t random—it was God’s plan from the very beginning, even in the smallest details: her smile, our laughter, and yes, even that dap at the end of our first date. The struggles I carried before meeting her were heavy, and I don’t know if I could have overcome them without the way God used her in my life. Through her, God pulled me back closer to Him, healed parts of me I didn’t even know were broken, and reminded me that His timing is always perfect. There were moments I thought she was too good for me, moments I tried to push her away for her own sake, but God kept writing our story when I wanted to put the pen down. From our first escape room date to me getting on one knee in Paris, every memory is proof that God orchestrated it all. I am endlessly grateful—not just that He gave me Tamia as my future wife, but that He used her to save me, to strengthen me, and to show me the power of His love through hers.