Summing up our relationship into a few paragraphs is no easy task, but I will do my very best. I truly believe that God was at work preparing us for one another and leading our paths to cross long before we ever met. In March of 2017, I attended a community-wide youth convention with my church’s youth group. After eating dinner, I was standing outside with a few girls from my church. Matt and another guy happened to walk by me and my friends. I recognized the other guy, and I knew that Matt was in a band with him. I thought that Matt was pretty good-looking, but I tried to not let that get to my head. I was struggling to see God’s goodness in that season of my life, but I was doing my best to pursue God whole-heartedly and to trust in Him.
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A few days passed, and it seemed as though I could not get Matt off my mind. On March 21, 2017, I finally decided to send Matt a direct message on Instagram. It was nothing fancy, but I did ask Matt if he had any prayer requests. The very next day, Matt had a request. By the end of March, Matt and I had exchanged numbers and were messaging each other daily. On March 29th, I attended a Life-Size Clue Night at The Gathering Community Church. Matt had invited me, and I agreed to go. It was a fun night, but I was a bit shy. We stuck around afterward and talked for a bit before leaving.
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The following week, Matt invited me to go bowling with him and a group of his friends. Once we finished bowling, we went to Chick-Fil-A, along with the rest of the group. Here, Matt offered to buy me a milkshake, but I politely declined. I was too scared that if he bought me any sort of food or drink, it would then be considered a date. The joke is on me because on April 14, 2017, Matt and I had our first date at The Mill in downtown Fuquay. Matt did not even have to buy me anything to eat or drink because I had eaten a peanut butter sandwich earlier that evening. (Fun fact: I actually ate a peanut butter sandwich before we hung out the first few times.) At The Mill, Matt and I spent hours talking. We shared our hopes, our dreams, and our testimonies. We listened to live music and clapped for the guitarist when no one else was cheering. I think that by the end of the night, we both knew that God had something big in store for us. We spent more time together that spring and summer. On July 16, 2017, Matt called to ask me if I wanted to make our relationship “official.”
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Fast forward a couple of years, to the spring of 2019. I graduated high school and left for Western Carolina University. We had already had a small taste of long-distance dating the past two summers, since Matt was a guitarist for a church camp on Oak Island. Dating in college was (and still kind of is) tricky at times. We have learned a whole bunch about communication, while also seeing God do some pretty incredible things in and through us. We constantly remind ourselves that we are on the same team and try to find humor in the little things. I pray that when you get a glimpse into our lives and our story, that you see how amazing God is, and the power that is unleashed when we align our hearts with His.