Greg and Lydia first met on the school bus during an elementary school field trip. Lydia asked Greg what was wrong with his eye (he has heterochromia), Greg told her he was born that way, and Lydia said she really liked it. Years later they found themselves on the middle school quick recall team together, Greg asked Lydia to be part of his theology book club, they travelled the country for high school speech and debate tournaments as teammates, and Lydia crashed a couple boys’ game nights (thanks to her also being pals with Joseph and Zane since third grade). They never thought of each other as anything more than good buddies until…

When covid hit, Lydia returned to Kentucky from NYC to finish her degree virtually. Meanwhile, Greg found himself working fewer shifts a week on his air-force base in Georgia. As many people did, Lydia began to check up on all of her high school friends during her daily quarantine walk. One day, June 7th to be exact, Lydia decided to call Greg after seeing a couple of their mutual friends that week. Greg, not having as many hours to work, happened to be free to answer. The phone call consisted of their usual religious and political banter. And that phone call turned into another and another until eventually Greg came home to Kentucky and took Lydia out on their first date in downtown Danville on July 3rd, 2020. After a couple dates that week, Greg returned to Georgia and the two began their long-distance dating phase which consisted of outrageously long FaceTime calls and weekly book discussions of Watchman Nee’s “Sit, Walk, Stand.” As they got to know each other’s hearts for the Lord, He made it clear to each of them where this was heading. Finally on October 15th, 2020, Greg travelled to NYC for a week-long visit with Lydia. The first night he arrived, they ventured onto her fire escape, looked up at the faint stars, and Greg asked Lydia if she’d be his girlfriend. The response was a quick “yes” followed by an awkward hug. A year and four months went by of daily phone calls, long-distance movie nights, flights to see one another whenever they could be squeezed in, surprise UberEats ordered for each other for dinner showing up unannounced, weekly book club just the two of them reading anything from the book of Acts to Danny Silk, when finally…

It was a Friday and Lydia started her morning by meeting her friend, Britt, to get their nails done for Britt’s “date” the next day. She should’ve known something was up when Greg Venmoed her money to have them done the day before… Meanwhile, Greg had driven since 2am to get to Jacksonville in time for his 6am flight to New York City. Lydia’s roommate, Sam, kept Greg informed about when he could arrive at their apartment after Lydia left that morning. Once she did, Greg took a car from the airport to drop off his baggage there, and then he and Sam ventured down to the engagement spot - Little Island (a new park that just opened on the Hudson River). Little did they know, the island was shut down for high winds that day, so they had to think on their feet and ended up at The Vessel in Hudson Yards. After her nails were done, Lydia went to school for a bit before she had a break in her schedule to meet Sam for a “chocolate and wine tasting” he got them free tickets to three weeks prior! Before she left to meet him, she received a text about the change of location from Little Island to Hudson Yards. In natural Lydia fashion, she showed up 20 minutes late to the tasting and Sam met her at the Subway exit. Sam begged her to come with him towards The Vessel to take a picture together for his social media, and she grudgingly agreed. That’s when she spotted Greg standing there in the wind with a giant grin on his face. He dropped to a knee, gave the most heartfelt speech, presented his own mother’s engagement ring to her, and popped the question. Again, the answer was an easy “yes!” After tears, laughter, and hugs, Lydia realized Sam, Britt, and Lydia Petree were all at the scene watching while taking pictures and videos. Afterwards a delectable meal was had at the one and only, Shake Shack 🤪 , and the newly engaged couple planned a weekend of celebration (that is, after Lydia returned to school to finish her classes for the day…). We cannot wait to continue the story with you on December 17th!