Matt's Story

I could start talking about our story in many different ways, but I’ll start by providing some context about myself before I met this incredible woman named Rebekah. In mid-2016, I had just come out of a relationship (I call it a “flirtationship” as we never went on any dates) that wasn’t meant to be, and I was struggling with many mixed emotions. I came to the conclusion that no matter what you face in life, you should trust God and submit your life to His ultimate will since He works all things for the good of those who love Him (Romans 8:28). I really began the process of that in late 2016, my senior year of high school while I worked part-time at a fast-food restaurant.

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Fast forward to March of 2017, there was this youth conference that my church was attending called “Merge” - a local conference involving a handful of churches that included preaching, worship, and fellowship. Naturally, I signed up to go and stay in a host home with friends during the 3-day conference weekend. The focus of the conference was all about unplugging from the distractions of the world to tune into the Holy Spirit in your life, which is what I had been in the process of for the previous 8-9 months. I was far from seeking out a romantic relationship with somebody else, but little did I know what would come next…

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When several days had passed after the conference, I received this DM on Instagram from a girl I had never met. The message stated “Hey Matt! I doubt you know who I am, but I saw you at Merge. I just wanted to let you know that if you ever have a prayer request (big or small) just let me know. I hope you've had a great day!” Interested, I responded to her message, saying that I indeed had a prayer request about my church worship (I was coordinating the youth worship team at the time and needed to make some last-minute adjustments). She later responded after the youth group had ended, but little did we know that kind gesture was the beginning of many more conversations to come.

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Later in the Spring, I invited Rebekah to my church for youth group and then to a group event to go bowling with some friends from church. It was a fun night where we had our first picture taken together with a group. After a few group get-togethers, we decided to go on a date by ourselves at a local coffee shop in our home town. We shared each others’ testimonies over dinner and how we each desired to grow in our relationships with God. I couldn’t help but notice how sweet and genuine she was in her pursuit of God and loving others. It seemed surreal to me that a 16-year-old girl would be capable of being so close with God. I was impressed, to say the least! At the end of the meeting, I realized we shared a mutual love of serving God and others and I thought this girl would be somebody worth getting to know better. At the end of the day, I realized that we had just gone on our first date, and I had this feeling it wouldn’t be our last…

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A few months (and dates) later, I asked her to be my girlfriend over the phone, to which she responded “sure” (unenthusiastic, but I think she was surprised!). Since then, we have both graduated high school, taken many college classes, worked different jobs, shared many highs and lows and truly gotten to know each other on an emotionally intimate level. I can wholeheartedly say I have never loved somebody as I do Rebekah. She is my helper, my partner, best friend, and truly one of God’s greatest blessings to me. We are far from perfect, but we are crazy blessed. I hope our story inspires you to trust in God and wholly yield to His ways in your pursuit of purpose in this life.