Hey Friends,

It’s been so fun sharing our love story with all of you! I was planning for this to be the last post in our story, but as I write, more and more details about our relationship come to mind. This week’s post is all about our courtship – one of the sweetest seasons in our life so far! Before you read this post, be sure to go back and read parts one and two which are linked below:

• Our Story: How We Met {Part One}
• Our Story: Building a Friendship {Part Two}

Now let’s jump right in to the next part of the story!

Summer 2016

All throughout the summer of 2016, Adam and I continued to chat on the phone once a week. It soon became the highlight of my week! Most of the time we would chat on Saturday nights, after all the campers had gone home and our staff responsibilities were complete. Adam would fill me in about his week in Philadelphia and inner city outreaches, and I would tell him the funny (and serious) things that happened during my busy week of supervising campers.

Each week I got to know Adam just a little bit better. I was able hear his passion for ministry, we discussed issues that teenagers were facing, and we laughed about the funny things that were happening during our summer experiences. As the summer progressed, so did our friendship. We knew we were getting to know each other for the purpose of courtship and marriage, but our chats on the phone were still were still very much friendship based. We avoided talking about the future and just enjoyed getting to know each other in the present.

By the time our summer ministries came to a close, I was incredibly anxious to see Adam again!

Adam returned home about a week before I did and he showed up at church the very first service I was back from camp. I remember walking into church that Wednesday night and there he was. 🙂  My friend, Deidre, who had been counseling with me that summer shot me a knowing grin. I think we smiled and said “hello” but I soon joined my friend Brittany in the children’s class we co-taught. That evening after the service I saw Adam chatting with my dad, but I still hadn’t had the chance to talk to him. Right before Adam was about to leave, my parents told me I could invite him to join us at a local diner. I remember running across the church grass trying to catch him before he left, hoping that no body was watching (running across the church lawn to talk to a young man wasn’t exactly typical behavior for me).

That night it was so much fun to be able to catch up with Adam. He had been roofing with his dad that week and looked so tan and handsome (I’m still jealous of his ability to tan!). 🙂

We got together a few more times that August. That previous May we all decided to schedule a trip to Ambassador to visit Adam and get to know him “in his element” as he liked to put it. My parents also wanted to chat with some of Adam’s professors to find out more his personality and character. Some of you may be thinking that sounds like an awful lot of work to get know someone, but just remember that marriage is serious business and God created it to last for a lifetime. It was important to both of us to find out more about the other person before committing to a committed relationship like marriage.

Fall 2016

Looking back on our trip to Ambassador in September of 2016, it was such a special time.  My parents and I were there for about three days. During that time I was able to join Adam for several of his classes, meet some of his friends (I had already met two of closest friends) and we were even able to squeeze in some sight-seeing on the weekend. Adam and I were starting to have much deeper conversations at that point, and looking back, one of our favorite parts of that trip was just getting to talk in person again, not just on the phone.

When my family and I left Ambassador to head back to Pennsylvania, it was a bittersweet goodbye. It was that day that Adam says he realized he was falling in love. ♥

About a month later, my 20th birthday rolled around. The day of my birthday I got a phone call from Adam – he sang Happy Birthday to me and after he was done his entire class wished me a Happy Birthday! It was sweet (and a little embarrassing!). That day I got a few other surprises… A giant bouquet of twenty red roses was sent to our house, as well as some sweet photo cards that Adam had designed himself. Later that day he called again and we were able to have a nice long chat on the phone. I remember ending that day feeling incredibly special! ♥

A few weeks later Adam finally came home for Fall Break. We had decided that during his weekend home we would officially begin our courtship. I knew Adam had something special planned but I didn’t really know what to expect.

To be honest, I was still really nervous. I liked Adam, he had become a dear friend to me. However, I still didn’t have feelings for him like I thought I should. I felt restless inside and void of the peace from God that I had been desperately praying for. I didn’t want to make a mistake. Even up to the night before we began courting, I remember looking in my mirror and telling God, “okay Lord, I have no reason to believe that this isn’t your will for my life. I am going to take this step of faith, please bring your perfect peace to my heart.”

It was a Saturday night on October 29th, 2016 when Adam and I went to a fancy restaurant along with both sets of parents. When I say fancy – I mean this was the nicest restaurant I had ever been to. Adam and his dad had driven all the way to Lancaster to check it out and make sure it was just right. Before we began eating, our dads each shared their perspective on our relationship and gave us their blessing to begin a courtship. Then, they each took a moment to pray for us. After our dad’s prayed and gave their blessing, Adam asked me to enter into a courtship with him. When I said yes, he pulled out a jewelry box which contained a dainty and beautiful diamond bracelet.

The rest of that night we enjoyed some wonderful food and fellowship and from that night on, God gave me the peace that I had so desperately wanted. After we began courting I never once doubted that Adam was the right one for me.  It’s as if God wanted me to take that step of faith first, and then He gave me the peace and assurance that He promises when we are walking in His will.

Unfortunately, the day after we began our courtship, Adam had to fly back to North Carolina to finish up his last semester of college, but after that he would be done! He was finishing up early so he wouldn’t need to go back for the Spring semester. I remember going to church the next day so happy that I could finally tell my friends (and family!) that Adam and I were officially courting. Up until that point, we had kept our budding relationship pretty quiet.

Adam and I continued talking on the phone (more often now), writing letters, and anxiously awaiting for Christmas when he would finally come home again.

Winter 2016-2017

I remember I was so, so happy when Adam finally came home for Christmas – and for good! We were finally in the same state and only one hour away from each other. Adam began attending my church on a regular basis so he was able to join our family every Sunday afternoon. At Christmastime, Adam was able to join our family on Christmas Eve, and I joined his family for two different family get-togethers. We had three straight days of celebrating. It was tiring but oh-so fun!

In January, Adam and I both began working for my brother at his warehouse and online business. I started out just working part-time and Adam was working for him full-time. Looking back, those were fun times. We occasionally got to work together and chat as we worked.  Even when we were doing completely different jobs we always got to enjoy lunch together in my brothers office (we mostly tried to ignore him – but we are thankful that he put up with the two of us!).

It was during this time in our courtship that our relationship really began to blossom. We would have conversations about important topics, we gave each other sweet little gifts and surprises, we did a book study together, we played games, had fun, and started talking more about the future. Between seeing Adam at church, going on weekly dates, and working together a few days each week, it didn’t take me long to realize that I was finally falling head-over-heels in love. ♥

(Our story to be continued next week…)