RSVP by: May 1, 2024

One day at dreaded RA training… I, a tall handsome single man of God, walked into the Liberty University cafeteria for lunch. As I stood in the long line for my usual burger- and-fries lunch, my eye was caught by some movement toward the front of the line. You guessed it, someone had cut in line with their “friends” toward the front. A feeling of injustice and anger welled up inside me as I positioned myself to see who the culprit was… and there she stood. The most beautiful line-cutter you’ll ever see. I couldn’t take my eyes off her. I watched intently as she approached the front of the line to grab her food, but as she reached the counter to pick up her burger and fries, they had just ran out of french fries. I watched as Jess stepped to the side of the counter to wait by herself for the fresh batch of fries to come. So, as a true man would, I said a quick prayer to the Lord above and I approached the damsel in distress. I had waited my whole life for an opportunity like this, so of course I was prepared to give her my best line. With all the courage I could muster up, I stepped out of line to wait beside her and said with confidence, “Is this the fry line?”. Not my smoothest line by any means but how was I supposed to make the fry line in our school’s cafeteria flirty? Anyways, you know how they say that meeting one person can change the trajectory of your whole life? Well on January 10th, 2023… Jess met me ;) and the rest was history!

At the end of Summer 2023, I whipped out my phone and clicked on the calendar app. I decided to play a fun little game where I was allowed to randomly select ONE weekend in the fall. One weekend, one prediction of when I thought I would get engaged. See, Brady was getting to keep all the fun secrets so I decided to have one for myself. I clicked on this day on my calendar app and wrote "???!!!" to remind myself what day I had chosen. The Date you may ask? November 3rd, 2023. When I went to bed the night of November 2nd, I made the formal decision that there was no way I was getting engaged the next day. I was absolutely sure I'd have some sort of feeling, some spiritual resolve or SOMEthing. But alas, I went to bed 100% positive that it would not be the long-anticipated November 3rd. I called Brady the next morning and he asked, "What are you wearing for our hike?" "Uhhh, leggings and a t-shirt" "Well, you should dress up" "................" The most excited panic I had ever experienced filled me. I called each of my friends, casually asking their plans that night (yes, I'm Nancy Drew). No one cracked! I thought to myself, "when I see Brady later this morning, I will instantly know". I saw him a few hours later and he was cool as a cucumber, dressed in a sweatshirt and gym shorts. My hopes dropped. Brady continued to brutally throw me off his scent by saying "Sorry I told you to get dressed up. That was super misleading." Alas, I went about my day. Lunch with a friend. Slow walk back to my dorm. Brady calls me again. "What are you wearing?" "Leggings and a t-shirt" "We both know you're not wearing that" "......" *screaming internally* I jumped out of my bed, prayed to God I wouldn't regret wearing that leather jacket, took a 5-minute vlog video, and ran downstairs. Brady's outfit had changed. He was suddenly a man of few words. He started driving the car in the opposite direction of the trail we were supposed to walk. I threw on the song "Yet Not I But Through Christ In Me" - seemed fitting for what Brady probably needed in that moment (LOL). We drive and drive for what felt like hours and pull into... The Airport? He parks the car, opens my door, and as he reaches for my hand, the dude is shaking like an earthquake. We walk towards the door and I see our friend Caleb standing there. Wait...Caleb is a pilot. We walk towards a small, 4-seater, plane and I'm instructed to "hop in". We all get in and just like that, I'm flying over the blue ridge mountains headed to who-knows-where. We land at an airport on top of a mountain. We hop in a car that's conveniently waiting for us and drive to the end of the runway. We jump out and I'm squealing and grabbing Brady's arm and freaking out. We walk up to a picnic, decked out with flowers and a picnic basket, 2 chess pieces (our first date), and a little box. He grabs the little box, gets down on his good knee, and uses my full name. I wheeze out the easiest "yes" of my life and he places the most beautiful ring I've ever seen on my finger. We sat and talked and hugged and dreamed and re-boarded the plane an hour later. We flew back to Lynchburg while the sun set on the horizon. Our family and friends were waiting at our friends' apartment. We celebrated together with all our favorite people. There you have it folks! Moral of the story, past Jess knew when it was but could've never imagined how intentional, special, and filled-with-love our engagement day would be. Next up: Holy Matrimony!!!