How I Found “The One”

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Anyone who knows me knows that my dreams came true last weekend—the most amazing man I have ever known asked me to marry him! Of course, I said yes, but the real reason I wrote this blog post is because it took a really long road for me to get here. I wanted to share the unexpected, painful, beautiful and even at times confusing twists and turns along the way. 

To my surprise, it wasn’t really a fairytale. It was better because I experienced some serious #CharacterDevelopment that the Disney movies typically leave out. I learned how to truly and deeply trust God no matter what life threw at me, with or without a significant other.

The journey really began in 2017. This was a transformational year for me; I started out heartbroken, confused, and had no idea what my calling was. For so many years I allowed the same kind of guys to lead me on, play with my emotions, and break my heart. I did a fair share of hurting folks in relationships too…it’s rare that everything is all one person’s fault. I had been hurt so badly in this area that the pain began to bleed into every area of my life. I realized that God was my only hope at a fulfilled life, not a guy. 

Once I realized this, I began to notice the Lord wooing my heart and drawing me closer to him. One night I was listening to a sermon in my tiny apartment. The message was about giving your entire heart and life to Jesus in every. single. area. 

I just knew it was time and began to weep and surrender my entire life to God—my heart, my relationships, my future, my dreams… everything. The Lord responded and told me to enter a season of singleness for a year and begin writing. 

So I did.

As I started writing songs and blogs, the Holy Spirit told me to learn songwriting techniques from Liz Rose. For some background, I grew up a *huge* Taylor Swift fan. She heavily influenced my desire to tell stories through music as a child, so I knew who Liz Rose was because she worked on four of Taylor’s albums as a co-writer. 

I started to watch some YouTube videos of her giving songwriting tips, and then the Lord told me to look up ‘Nashville Songwriters Association (NSAI)’. I went to their website and on the very front page was Liz Rose! NSAI was hosting a songwriting retreat with Liz! I remember completely freaking out. I sent in some of my songs and prayed that they were good enough to get me accepted into the workshop. 

A few weeks went by and I got the acceptance letter in the mail! I remember being so excited I started to cry. This was the first real door that had ever opened for me in the area of music and I was so overwhelmed. 

I wrote with one of my musical heroes for a few days, and at the end of the workshop, Liz and some of the mentors told me that I had a gift and needed to find a music company called Full Circle Music to mentor me. 

I went home and researched Full Circle Music and sent in an internship application… and never heard back.

But I didn’t let that stop me! I applied for internships at other music companies and began working in my dream field. I always kept an eye on what Full Circle was up to, and one day, a year later, I received an email saying that they were looking for new hires. I sent in an application and to my surprise, they actually wanted to interview me. I made it through the first round of interviews and got called back again. 

It was time for my second interview, and I was so nervous! I walked into the studio and there was Jerricho! I met the team and ended up beating over 60 people for the job position. By this point I just remember thinking, “Okay… God must really want me here because this is a little too orchestrated.”

Little did I know, I had just been introduced to my future husband!

We became friends and fell in love a little while after. Some changes in his work happened, and Jerricho left Full Circle two months after I began working there. Because of the way everything with his career unfolded, we were able to date. The timing was definitely the Lord—If I had been there a year before when I had applied for an internship, Jerricho would not have been single. If I had shown up even a month or two later then when I started, I would have never met him!

We spent an amazing year and a half together and grew so much. Not only that, but we navigated a pandemic, a crazy job market, disagreements, arguments, an insane election, family vacations, and through it all we grew stronger and fell more in love every day. This was really the green light for me. I knew if we could make it through 2020 we could make it through anything! ?

Throughout our relationship, we talked and dreamed about getting married often, but it wasn’t until this winter that things really started to fall into place! 

We talked to my parents about getting married and Jerricho asked for their blessing. They said yes and he took me ring shopping right after! We picked out the most beautiful ring and let me tell you—I was a nervous wreck! 

At this point things were starting to get real and I was flooded with so many different emotions. There was excitement but also fear of the future unknown. Luckily, I have some amazing friends and the most wonderful mother who helped me process these enormous life changes. They let me know everything I was feeling was completely normal because this was one of the biggest decisions of my life! 

One Friday night in December, Jerricho and I decided to go to Cheekwood Botanical Gardens in Nashville to look at the lights and the Cheekwood Estate. We wandered around magical Christmas light displays in gardens and he eventually led me up to the Cheekwood mansion. When we got to the balcony overlooking a forest, he proposed! Not only that, but my two best friends who happen to be photographers jumped out of the bushes and captured the moment perfectly! It was a dream proposal, but the real dream is getting to spend forever with the most amazing and thoughtful man I know.

The minute I said yes, every bit of anxiety and fear of the unknown completely disappeared. I took that leap of faith and found so much peace and joy on the other side! I used to think when I met “the one” the heavens would open up and a prophet would emerge from the clouds and tell me, “This man is your husband!” But as I prayed and sought the Lord, He gave me little confirmations along the way through family members, church family, and friends. He spoke to my heart through comforting words and divine appointments.

There wasn’t really a specific moment when I knew he was “the one”. I just knew I never wanted us to break up. I legitimately couldn’t imagine life without him. My life is more vibrant, full, and beautiful now that he is in it. I also knew Jerricho was different than any person I had ever known, and our relationship was just special.

Most people would say that they have “types”. This is because when we are younger, we are told what kind of person we should like, what is attractive, and what is desirable and we just go along with it. Some of us even have lists we have compiled of all of the traits our future partner must have. This is crazy! I wish I could go back to younger me and tell her RIP UP THAT LIST! It’s so stupid! Of course there are non-negotiables. This is not what I am talking about when I say rip up the list. My non-negotiables were: marrying a man that loves Jesus, loves me and my family, is smart, and a hard worker. But before I met Jerricho, what I imagined my future husband would look like or act like was just a girlish, fake idea someone put in my head when I was little.

The truth is, the man God had for me was so much better than anything I could have asked for or imagined! He challenges me, is strong in the areas where I am weak, and is weak in a lot of the areas I am strong in. He serves me, protects me, and values me. We truly complement each other so well and always aim to push each other towards Jesus. 

This testimony is not just my story, it is just how God works. He saves us from what we want and gives us what we need. He is such a good Father! Jeremiah 29:11 says, “For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.”

You can always trust God to hand-pick your perfect helpmate, because his plans for you are GOOD! His ways are not our ways–they are so much better! (Isa 55:8-9)

Ephesians 3:20 says, “Now all glory to God, who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us.”

If you are still waiting to meet your person, you will find them while you are seeking God. It was no coincidence that I was fervently seeking God’s plan for my life when I met Jerricho. I wasn’t looking for Jerricho, I was focusing on Jesus and the field he placed me to work in. If we let Him direct our steps, we give Him permission orchestrate our love story, just like when He brought Eve to Adam, Ruth to Boaz, and Esther to Xerxes.

To close, here is a prayer I would pray often while I was waiting for Jesus to introduce me to my future husband:

Father God,

Thank you for being all that I need. You are my first love, and the ultimate husband to your church. I pray that You would allow me to be complete and content in your love. I ask that you heal every wounded area of my heart and restore it to your perfect design. I surrender all of my relationships into your hands, and I renounce any and all soul-ties to current or past lovers. I pray that Your will would be done in my life in the mighty name of Jesus. I also pray that you would draw my future husband closer to You and prepare him for me. Make him passionate about You and Your word. Strengthen him and keep him in your ways. In Jesus name, amen.

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