We’re getting married!

Last August I was praying fervently about wanting to make some new friends who were my own age and stage of life. Fast forward a few details, and I ended up creating a Facebook group specifically for “Single Christians in their 30s in DFW”. Three days after I created the group, I organized a meet up at a local park where about a dozen 30-somethings from all over DFW showed up to meet and mingle! However, my goal and intentions with this group was NOT to meet guys. And dating was not on my radar at all. Trevor was the very first person to show up and we really hit it off, laughing, and bonding over our love of the enneagram, haha (I’m a 1, he’s a 7!). I remember thinking to myself “Man, I just really want to be best friends with this guy!” We hung out a few more times over the following days with the group and one-on-one and I realized this guy was the real deal. His love and passion for the Lord was authentic and honest and we were spiritually aligned in our pursuit of Him. I loved talking and hanging out with him! After several weeks, I agreed to roadtrip with Trevor to his hometown in Tulsa for a few days, still hardly knowing this guy lol. But after that trip, and really getting to know him more, is when God spoke to me very clearly and that’s when I “knew”. ❤️

In a nutshell, I was on dating apps & feeling frustrated after being on them for a few years, going on a ton of dates with nothing ever panning out. God really started dealing with me early 2020 right before lockdowns to get off dating apps but still chose to stay on them (because I knew best & how else was I going meet someone in the middle of COVID right?!). Later that summer, I felt like God was dealing with me much stronger to get off the apps & couldn't ignore it anymore. Not gunna lie, I wrestled with it & was salty at first because I was 34 & didn't know how else I was going to meet someone. I thought to myself, "I'm never getting married. God is going to make me be single for the next 7 years." God did make it very clear to me though that when I met my future wife, it was going to be in a way that was out of my control & He was going to get the glory for it. Little did I know, 2 weeks later I would meet Alli. I decided to go to a group event for people in their 30's that Alli organized with the sole purpose of going to see if I can get at least one lead for work (because I already set in my mind that I was going to be single for a while!). I was the first one there (generally a rookie move but not this time) & Alli & I hit it off so much so that she even said she loved me for the first time that night 😂. I thought, "This girl is awesome & I want to get to know her more." After hanging out a few more times in groups & chatting some I was like, "God are you doing something here?!" I felt like I needed to be honest with her that I was digging her & wanted to continue to get to know her but wasn't a good time to start dating anyone. She agreed. Little did I know the more I sought God about her the more I realized God was leading us together a lot quicker than I thought. Low & behold! Here we are getting married less than a year later! 😃

On Sunday, April 11, Trevor had arranged a surprise “for my parents”, who were in town from Virginia visiting that weekend. Because I also like surprises, I didn’t ask many questions. Along with two of Trevor’s best friends, the 6 of us met up Sunday evening at Lake Carolyn in Irving for a sunset gondola ride! It was a beautiful night and we all enjoyed a delightful, relaxing boat ride which included rose petals, romantic music, sparkling apple juice, and chocolates. Yes, I had a feeling haha. During the boat ride as the sun was settling, our gondolier noticed a glass bottle of “trash” in the water and asked if one of the guys would grab it as he drove by so it wouldn’t “get caught under the boat and break the motor”. I thought “oh that’s nice we’re cleaning up the planet during our fancy boat ride!” To my surprise, Trevor pulled the bottle out of the water and it had a MESSAGE in it wrapped in a red ribbon! As he pulled the message out and unrolled the scroll, I saw my name at the top and got SO excited that I asked if I could read it. 😂 I proceeded to SPEED READ this carefully thought out and beautiful letter Trevor wrote to me. At the bottom it said “Will you marry me?” I then looked up and saw Trevor on one knee holding out my dream ring to which I exclaimed “WOW! YES!!” The “surprise for my parents” turned out to be his proposal plan that ALL of my family and his friends were in on! I was so elated and thankful. It was the most perfect evening and engagement experience. ❤️ Bonus info: After I said yes, Trevor arranged for the gondolier to play all of my favorite songs which included selections by the Backstreet Boys, Hanson, and Tangled. All incredibly special touches that are so “me”. ❤️❤️