Our Story

"He is before all things, and in him all things hold together." — Colossians 1:17

A middle school crush to best friends and now forever. Will, You're Still The One…

It all started in sixth grade.

With a little help from mutual friends — and parents willing to drive 45 minutes — we started hanging out in groups. Will's Irmo Little League games. Pelican's SnoBalls on weekends. Animated movies and the kind of easy memories we didn't know we'd carry with us for the rest of our lives. We were just kids. But looking back now, I can see that even then, God was writing a story far greater than either of us could imagine.

By seventh grade, Will finally worked up the courage to stand across from me in the lunchroom and ask me out — even though I wasn't allowed to have a boyfriend until high school. (Oops!)

And from there, we just kind of grew up together. He was (and still is) my favorite person — the one I wanted to call first, the one who made everything more fun just by being there. Steady, dependable, and genuinely one of the hardest-working people I have ever known. I didn't have the words for it back then, but looking back, I think part of me always knew he would be someone special.

Will was always at practice — baseball, wrestling, track, football — and I've spent years cheering him on from the sidelines, and honestly, that's one of my favorite places to be. When he was faced with the MLB Draft after high school, he chose Clemson instead. He chose to stay and play both sports he loved — baseball and football — and I was still his biggest fan.

But our freshman year, we went our separate ways — and it ended up being one of the most important seasons of our lives. While we were apart, I prayed for Will constantly and even kept a little prayer journal just for him, asking the Lord to draw close to him and guide his steps. Looking back now, I can see that God was working in both of our lives in ways we couldn't yet understand. He was teaching us to trust Him more deeply, to seek Him first, and to hold our plans with open hands. And in His perfect timing, He brought us back together.

And when He did, I knew. This was the man I had prayed for. Patient, faithful, loving — everything I had written in that little journal and more.

After his junior year, Will was drafted by the Pittsburgh Pirates, and we stepped into yet another new season: long distance, big dreams, and learning again to trust the Lord wherever life — and baseball — takes us. And I would do every bit of it again, because home has always been wherever he is.

When I look at Will now, I don't just see the boy I met in sixth grade. I see a faithful man who loves the Lord, loves his family, loves others well, and works hard in everything he does. I see answered prayers. I see God's kindness. And I am endlessly grateful that I get to spend the rest of my life beside him.

Looking back, we can see that God was faithfully writing our story all along. The seasons that didn't make sense at the time became some of His greatest gifts, and His plans proved better than anything we could have asked or imagined. The older I get, the more I realize that one of God's greatest gifts to me was not simply giving me a husband — it was allowing me to spend so many years loving my best friend.

Thank You, Jesus!