How I Met My Wife

So, I'm married.

Everything really has changed in a unique and wonderfully-surprising way. I'm not quite sure where to begin, but I know that every great story must be told, so here is my attempt at ours.

I met Ashley Anne Cooney three summers ago. The whole thing was rather serendipitous and unexpected. We, who had attended the same college for years, were brought together weeks before both of us would graduate. She needed help planning an outdoor party, and evidently, I had achieved some kind of superstar barbecuer status. Or, she just picked the guy with the brightest-orange hair. Either way, I was honored.

That summer, we both stayed in town after graduation while all of our friends took off. A small college town is a pitiful sight when all the students have gone home. There were four or five of us who hung out on a regular basis, and Ashley was part of that group.

What's particularly strange about that whole summer is that I had no intention of sticking around. I was young and adventurous, and young adventurers don't stay put in one place too long. I wanted to go to Texas for my third summer at camp, but I heard the Lord tell me to stay. I can't say that I didn't fight it most of the summer, but even when I got an offer in July to come down and help (they were desperate), I had to turn it down. I knew God was up to something.

Ashley and I became friends pretty quickly and before long, we were each other's main confidante. It was such a strange and beautiful summer, full of wonderful memories. One night, we stayed up all night on my front porch telling stories just because we could. Another night, I took her for a walk to go star-gazing in the football field, where I dropped the infamous "So, here's the deal..." line, told her how I felt about her, and later held her hand. There were even times when we cried together. But the summer ended, and I left for another adventure, not promising anything, except that I would pray for her.

And I did--every day for a year. We wrote letters and talked on the phone occasionally. We went out of our way to see each other, even if it meant driving hours to share a few precious minutes together. The next summer, we confessed that we loved each other. We both moved to Nashville in the fall, got jobs and separate apartments, and tried to see if we could deal with seeing each other on a regular basis. We had some trials, but persevered and decided that we didn't really want to do life without each other. That following spring, I proposed to her, and on January 12, 2008, I got to marry my best friend.

There are a hundred details I left out, but that's the gist of how I met my wife. She is the most interesting, fun, and beautiful person I have ever known. She makes my life interesting and surprises me often. I have learned more about God, love, and commitment from her than I have from any other person. I am lucky to have ever met her and consider it an honor to be called her husband.