I remember back in 2009 when my parents had told my brother and I that they were going to be candidating at a church in the town of Flushing Michigan and that we were going to visit. I was excited to go somewhere new and meet new friends. Little did I know that during this visit I was going to meet my future husband. My family was invited to go to one of the church members houses for dinner, and it was there we were introduced. Our first meeting was not very romantic, unless you consider a very intense lightsaber fight to be just that. I thought he would make a good friend. Fast forward three years, and I'll tell you about the time I first noticed my feelings for him. I remember walking into the church and seeing him standing by the welcome center at the main entrance. He smiled and waved, which was nothing unusual. Until my heart decided to take it up a notch and I began to feel nervous butterflies. I later learned these were the feelings of my first crush. Slowly over the course of the next year, I started to become even more intrigued by this young man. He had such a Godly heart, encouraging spirit, and a determination that quickly drew my attention. The day I decided I was going to marry him was at Bambi Lake, January of 2014. I had been very ill that morning due to an allergic reaction. My mom was braving a snowstorm to come rescue me, but I wanted to say goodbye to my friends before I left. I was waiting outside of the chapel for the service to end and watched as people left the sanctuary and went to the dining hall. Luke was the only one of my friends to notice me and check to see if I was okay. In that moment, I decided I was going to marry this man. I stayed up until four in the morning that night planning our wedding. Though it was nothing like it will be the day of our wedding now, I was proud of it. Then began my prayers for him every single night. I would spend time asking the Lord to let this man love me back, and if that wasn't in His will, to bless this young man with woman who would love him as much as I did. I ended up taking matters into my own hands and emailing him, after I stole his email address from of my brother, and we began to talk quite frequently. After two years, this young man that I loved was leaving for college and I was afraid to lose him. Which led me to the most terrifying night of my life, the night confessed my feelings. I was so scared my knees were shaking. Finally, after an eternity of waiting, he said he liked me too. Our relationship bloomed after that, with many phone calls while he was away at school and many hours of texting throughout the days. I could see the Lord work throughout those next two years, how He grew us closer and allowed our relationship to progress. Then, on July 11th, 2018, after six years of waiting, the man I loved asked me to be his girlfriend. I never thought I could get any happier. Well, I can easily say I was wrong. That day was easily topped by the day my best friend asked me to be his wife.

I'm pretty sure Miranda suspected a proposal was coming when we went to the Sleeping Bear Dunes last summer. We had talked about marriage before, and our plan for a future together. We had even discussed rings and what her interests were. But despite all that (and the fact that I can never seem to surprise her) I tried playing it as cool as possible as we headed off for a day trip together. We had perfect weather, and our picnic lunch was sweet and relaxing. We started hiking, and since Miranda's sense of adventure and love for exploring is one of the things I love about her, it was nothing new for us to pick the path less-traveled. As we climbed the dunes, we eventually came to a quiet spot overlooking the lake and the surrounding hills, and just sat holding hands and enjoying the moment. It was the perfect opportunity, but the ring box was stuck in my backpack and I couldn't seem to get it out without her noticing. She had assumed I was going to propose then, but it just didn't happen. Eventually it was time to move on, and we started to get up to head further down the trail. Finally, I managed to pull the ring out, and as she walked on ahead, I called out to her. She turned around, and to her surprise, I was down on one knee, with the ring held out. After telling her how much I loved her, how much she meant to me and that I didn't want to spend my life with anyone but her, she agreed to marry me. We spent the rest of the day beaming with happiness, and that excitement has only gotten stronger as we've spent the past year preparing for our wedding.