Jesus works in funny and unexpected ways...
We met in 2024 at an after-church volleyball game through a mutual friend - a brief, unassuming moment that neither of us thought much of. But a few weeks later, the three of us ended up on a mini-golf course, and somewhere between friendly competition and easy laughter, something shifted. We both felt it, even if we didn't say it yet. Friendship grew fast and felt effortless, and somewhere in those early days, we each quietly thought “This is the person I've been praying for.”
 
Five months later, I took Bianca back to that very mini-golf course - where it all began - and asked her to be my girlfriend, with a handwritten letter and Lego roses (because they'll never die). What followed was a year of pure joy, growth, and paying attention to the little things.
 
On the 31st of August 2025, Sean told me we needed to go view a venue for his mom's upcoming 50th birthday. I was suspicious from the start - the birthday was still months away, he had casually asked what I'd be wearing the day before, and his family made a slightly-too-big deal about how I looked on my way out. I had a feeling. But I convinced myself he was just trying to throw me off.
 
I had been planning for a while. When we arrived, I had a picnic set up and a photo board - every picture labelled with a countdown of how many days before that moment it was taken. It was just the two of us. Well - and the photographer I had quietly organised. I got down on one knee. She said yes.
 
But Sean wasn't the only one who had been planning. Because I had a feeling it was coming, I had organised a few surprises of my own - enlisting the same friends who were helping him, who also happened to know who the photographer would be. After he proposed, the photographer handed Sean a letter, a framed piece with our names, and a map marking the exact location and date, and a hand-painted rock. He was confused. I got to watch his face. I enjoyed every second of it.
 
The rock meant everything. Throughout our relationship, whenever one of us travelled, we'd bring back a pretty rock for the other - usually from the beach. I love the idea that a male penguin courts his partner by offering her a rock, and that they stay together for life. Painted on this one were two penguins, and the words: I ♥ you - not "I love you," but a heart, because I once told Bianca that loving her means giving her my whole heart and entrusting her with it. On the day I gave her the most important rock of my life, she made sure I got one too.
 
His just wasn't shiny.
 
We are just over three months out - and we cannot wait to celebrate with the most special people in our lives by our side.