Our Story

Today marks 3 years since Josh and I began dating! It's been a whirlwind and I wouldn't change it for anything. In light of today, I am feeling quite nostalgic and started thinking back on our story from the beginning. We get questions all the time about how we met and started dating, so I thought I would share a little bit of our story.

Most people don't know that Josh and I were actually friends for a year before we ever began dating. We met in May of 2010 through a mutual friend. My best friend, Caylyn, and Josh both went to the same college and were already good friends. I went to visit Caylyn the weekend after my junior year of college ended to kick off the summer. While I was there, I met Josh. He came over late one night after getting off work at Papa John's. He was in his uniform and covered with dough, but I instantly knew there was something different about him. It's funny because I remember being interested in him immediately. I knew he was a good, Christian guy and he was fun to be around. I also knew I needed more people like this in my life. I left GCSU that weekend thinking that he was a nice guy who I wanted to get to know more. I then asked to be his Facebook friend, so technically I originally initiated it ;)

We talked over Facebook chat for over a year and got to know each other a lot that way. We both enjoyed talking to each other and would stay up late into the night getting to know each other more. It slowly developed into a solid friendship. Although there was always a spark between us, the fact that we lived almost 3 hours away from each other (I lived in Carrollton and he lived in Irwinton), discouraged anything more from ever developing between us...until the next summer.

I went on a mission trip to South Korea in May of 2011 and because Josh had also gone on many international mission trips, we began talking much more frequently. Little did I know that he was actually starting to pursue me. We talked more after I got back from my trip and one day he decided to call me. We talked for hours. Calling turned into Skyping and soon enough we were spending a lot of time in communication with each other through calls, texts, Facebook chat, Skyping, etc. I was completely blind to the entire thing though! I was in a place where I really wasn't looking for a relationship. I had told God that I needed a break from guys and wasn't going to be looking for a boyfriend any time soon. Well, God and Josh had a different plan. At that point, I thought of Josh as a really good friend and loved his company. I was content being single, so I wasn't pushing for anything more. I do remember thinking, there's no way my future husband is someone I already know (not realizing that he was actually right under my nose the entire time). After heavily pursing me without my knowledge, Josh finally asked me out on a date. (Apparently everyone was aware this was going to happen except me). I thought; why not give him a shot? And the rest is history.

We only went on two dates before he asked me to be his girlfriend and I happily said yes. It all happened so fast, yet it had been building up for a year. Starting a relationship with Josh was one of the best decisions I have ever made. Our relationship was different than anything I had ever experienced and I was immediately smitten. I knew this guy was different than anyone else. He was my best friend and we had so much fun together. We could talk for hours and the conversation never got dull. Josh is such a wonderful, Godly man and a perfect match for me! Since July of 2011, our life together has been far from boring. We started off driving 3 hours to see each other every weekend and visiting each other as much as possible. Josh was finishing his last semester of college, accepting the call to seminary, and transitioning into post-college life while trying to find a "real" job. I had just graduated college and moved back home. I was bouncing around from job to job and was really trying to figure out what I wanted to do with my life. We came into each other's lives at the perfect time, but it was far from simple.

We have been through a long distance relationship, college, seminary, moving, new churches, new jobs, engagement, marriage, buying our first house, and now expecting our first child. Transition is a word I would use to describe the past 3 years. We have been constantly transitioning from one thing to the next with little stability. The one thing that has remained solid throughout everything has been our relationship. We are far from perfect as is our relationship, but we are genuinely so happy together. We bring out the best in each other and challenge each other to be better. We have worked hard for our relationship, but at the same time, it's always come easily and been very natural. I have never laughed so hard or had so much fun as I have in the past 3 years. I'm so thankful to have Josh by my side through thick and thin to encourage me, love me, and continuously pursue me. God blessed me with a man and a marriage that far exceeded my expectations for myself and I couldn't be more grateful.

So, that's our story. Here's to all the blank pages still left to be filled with amazing memories and adventures. I can't wait for our future together because I know the best is yet to come!

 

I Can't Do This Alone

Over the past 9 months, I have had the pleasure of being a part of two special groups. The first being a girl's Bible study for the average 20 something and the second being my Sunday school class at my church. Both of these groups were answered prayers for me.

When I was in college, I was a part of a few different small groups and came to really enjoy and appreciate them. I was able to bear my heart and bond with those in the group through similar struggles, joys, and circumstances. You see, these ladies helped me understand the true need for fellowship in the Christian walk. I finally understood how essential other people are in our faith. Yes, you can do it alone, but it is so much more fulfilling to have others walk alongside you. I experienced fellow believers praying for me, encouraging me, and holding me up through the trials in my life. I learned so much more in a group than I would have ever learned on my own and it was truly a joy to be a part of these small groups.

Since I graduated from college, I have lacked that close bond of fellowship in my life. I didn't have a group of people to learn from and rely on. I didn't have a group of people to pray for me or for me to lay my heart out to. I struggled to find friends in the same phase of life as me and something just felt off about the few groups I did try out. At the end of last summer, I prayed for a group of people to come in to my life and allow for that close bond again. I wanted to learn and be pushed. I wanted to be surrounded by a few people who were in the same phase of life as me and would understand where I was coming from. I wanted to be held accountable for all these great intentions I had but never carried out. Well, that prayer was answered beyond my expectation. This year I was blessed with two different groups of people. Both of them are completely opposite and God definitely taught me that you can learn something from any group of people if you are open and willing.

The first group came about when one of my good friends asked me if I would be interested in starting a Bible study for young, married women. She asked at the perfect time when I was desiring to be around some women who were also newlyweds. Not that I didn't love my single friends, but being a newlywed, I knew there was so much I could learn from other married women. There were also struggles and joys that I wanted to share with people who I knew would understand. The group started this fall and has been nothing but a blessing in my life. I have grown so much through this group and the books we have studied. The material has been inspiring, but the women in the group far outdid anything I could have read. I learned so much from all of the ladies in this Bible study and finally got the fellowship that I had been craving. We laughed together, cried together, and shared our burdens and fears. Most nights we would lay it all out on the table and I would leave feeling nothing less than complete fulfillment, the courage to keep going, and the challenge to be a more Godly woman. I was so deeply encouraged by this group and it was a confirmation of how crucial fellowship is in my walk.

The second group is not as traditional as the first, and that was the beauty of it. I first started attending Mountain View UMC in June of 2013. I was interested in joining a Sunday school class, but because I went to the early service, my options were limited. I ended up joining a class full of older people. To be honest, I was a little hesitant at first and nervous to see how I would fit in to the group. The impact this group has had on me has been a complete surprise and I have loved every minute of it. I have learned so much from this group of older believers and have been very challenged by their faith. They have really been there for me and encouraged me during hard times. They have consistently prayed for me and asked about specific things I have mentioned months later. They pay attention to the details and they care. They are such a sweet group of people and my eyes have been opened to the wisdom they carry. We have also read some great material in that class and going through it together allowed me to learn more and ask questions that I couldn't answer on my own. Reading it together allowed our study to be rich instead of just mediocre. The group effort allowed us to dig deep. I love my Sunday school class and am so thankful for our weekly meetings that I always look forward to. God had a different idea with this group and it ended up completely surpassing my expectations.

God has created us for many things, but one of the essential things that we have been created for is relationship. We have been created to have relationships with one another. God made us that way. He allows those relationships to spur us on and fill us up. Oh how different the Christian walk would be if we did not have each other. I am so grateful for the relationships and times of fellowship that God has given me. If you do not have others in your life that you can rely on for those important times of fellowship and relationship, I deeply encourage you to find a group or a few different people that can be that for you. It is such an essential part of my faith and I can't express the impact that these people have had on my life.