The venue was set; a beautiful waterfront restaurant, offering views of both the Ohio River and the Cincinnati skyline. It was one very cold evening in December and Julie did not want to go out but I managed to convince her otherwise. I had invited some of her close friends and her sister, Vanessa. For Julie, it was a regular night out. Starters took longer than usual because the party was a bit late driving from Columbus. After about an hour’s waiting, her friends finally arrived. Julie was surprised to see them. While exchanging pleasantries I got down on one knee; she knew exactly what this was and I looked at her knowing this was exactly the moment she has been dreaming of. As if the ambiance and her friends’ presence was not enough, everyone at the restaurant applauded with cheers. This was truly an awesome moment.
In 2020 I found the love of my life and oh how right I was… I cannot imagine my life without her as my partner. After nearly 2 years of traveling over 5,000 miles together and making fond memories, we are set to be married on 07/16/2022.
I first met Theo in 2019 during a Tuesday evening service. There wasn’t any interaction that night, however, that same week, after Sunday service, he interrupted my conversation with a mutual friend and asked him to introduce us. After the introduction, we still did not interact as much since I would leave the moment service was over.
Our love story began after the lockdown in August 2020. Theo asked for my phone number but did not call or text me. He finally called a couple of weeks later to check up on me since I had been absent from church. We bonded right away; we stayed on the phone for about six hours getting to know each other and discussing our interests in food and traveling. It did not take him long to make his intentions known and I was amazed by how brave and straightforward he was.
Though I wasn't ready at the time, we'd still hang out, enjoyed each other's cooking, and stayed on the phone for hours every day. As I got to know him more and prayed about his intentions, I realized that he is the man of my dreams.
I am so grateful that God did not only give me a dedicated man and a lifetime prayer partner but also, a lifetime traveling companion with a jovial personality, the best cook ever, a man with good morals and principles, and a man who puts my happiness above all and brings me peace and joy.
After nearly two years together, I can’t wait to spend the rest of my life with my first and forever love.