On one ordinary August 2023 morning, one ordinary suggestion occurred, that unbeknownst to Thomas & Zah at the time, would lead to one extraordinary connection that has catapulted to this moment in time.

It all started when Thomas’s LinkedIn notification popped up with a question, “Would you like to connect with Zanele?”. Intrigued, Thomas reviewed the mutual connections list and immediately deduced that Zah must be Seventh Day Adventist from their shared associations. It was at this point that Thomas sent Zah the connection request.

While he was certainly not looking for a romantic connection on LinkedIn, Thomas will confess that he did take notice of Zah’s “cute” profile picture & so Thomas did what any 21st century individual who finds themselves in this position would do & set out on a google mission! LOL! Google did not disappoint and would confirm Thomas’s initial Adventist speculation, while simultaneously bringing their worlds even closer as there pictured as a bridesmaid on one of his fellow Church members’ upcoming wedding website was none other than Zah, with the same cute profile picture as that on LinkedIn. The bride in that fellow Church member’s website would turn out to be one of Zah’s closest friends Tara, who incidentally has now returned the favor as one of Zah’s bridesmaids. Some things do come full circle :)!

Thomas’s curiosity was now sufficiently stirred to the point that he needed to do more substantive investigative research on Zah beyond google and turned to his brother Tawanda as his trusted source of truth. As though scripted in a playwright, it was no sooner than his conversations with Tawanda had yielded positive informative insights about Zah, that she responded , after accepting his connection request, with a…” Hi, we connected a bit ago, and am curious, do you know Tawanda?”.

That would begin the first of what has now become countless joy-filled, hilarious, captivating, inspiring conversations between Thomas & Zah. Texts soon turned into calls and calls grew feet and wings turning into visits and those visits between Washington DC and Indianapolis led to the realization that living apart is not an option either want to pursue and a unity in Holy Matrimony is the only & best offer both are willing to consider.

From the onset, our shared values and passions have led us to believe that providence has been long at play in bringing us together. The discoveries that often have left us both in awe have continued, such as our shared love of community which evidenced itself in us both leading Young Professionals Bible studies on Friday evenings, to our love for the ministry of presence in whatever way that presents itself, our unquenchable enthusiasm for nature, and our dedication to all things family. These are just a sampling of the many joys that have led us to walk this road in agreement as we look forward to continuing the journey hand in hand into eternity!

And so what we truly believe happened on that ordinary day in August 2023, is that Providence stooped low to utter the declaration that the time had come for the substance of our countless prayers in faith to become evidenced. God found us on the only social media connections we both were tied to and that was all He needed to write the next chapter in our life stories! For that we say Thank you Abba!! God is true, He can be trusted and all His ways are good! In His time, God truly makes all things beautiful. Amen