The day I met Mads is memory I hold close to my heart.

I was just on my lunch break at work, sitting on the edge of the patio with my bare feet in the grass, enjoying the sunshine. But that day was already quite unusual because I wasn’t my typical happy-go-lucky self. I was troubled in spirit, facing a dilemma at work. I wasn’t sure what to do about it, so I was praying quietly to God for guidance, asking for His help—whatever that may be. Suddenly, the patio door behind me swung open. I looked back to see a beautiful young lady coming toward me and speaking to me.

“You… are… a… legend!” she exclaimed.

Now, you may be confused, as was I. What had I done to deserve such praise? Well, as Mads explained, she was impressed that I would just take my shoes off at work and ground, seemingly unconcerned with what anyone else thought of me, including the owners, who would definitely have thought I was weird. In any case, what followed was an interesting but all too brief conversation between Mads and I about “grounding”…then she was gone, like a whirlwind—in and out of my life. I didn’t even catch her name. We worked in different departments…on opposite sides of the building…so I might actually never see her again.

My life was simply too complicated at the time for me to seriously consider pursuing anyone romantically, so I assumed that it was probably for the best. As far as I was concerned, God had answered my prayer—giving me just the confidence boost I needed to do the right thing at work, and that was that.

Little did I know, that day, God had set in motion an answer to my prayer far more life-changing and wonderful than I had imagined.

A couple weeks later, the rain brought me inside for lunch. Monica, a mutual friend of mine and Mads, saw me in the break room and asked if I had signed up to help Mads with the 5K she was organizing at our job. Well, I had never heard of Mads, nor did I typically volunteer for anything extra at work, but since Monica had asked me personally, I decided to help out.

I reached out to Mads through email to sign up, and when I saw her profile picture, I finally realized that’s her.

The day of the 5K gave us our first real opportunity to be around each other. Though I didn’t get to spend much time alone with Mads during the event, we were now friends—so from that day forward, I felt comfortable swinging by her office to say hi, or, more often than not, she would just come outside to join me on my lunch breaks and we would chat.

I had no idea whether she saw me as anything more than a friend, but as we got to know each other, talking with her became the highlight of my day—I just couldn’t get enough.

She had shared some of her passions and dreams with me, and it was inspiring stuff that really resonated with me. I asked if she wanted to meet up some time outside of work. She said yes. We agreed to meet at a local park. It was so nice—we talked for hours and I learned that she was planning on leaving our company in a month, meaning moving to Colorado for a farming apprenticeship, and although I was happy for her to be pursuing her dreams, the thought of her leaving definitely weighed on my heart.

At the time, I just kept thinking how blessed I felt to have met such a special person, and I just wanted to stay in her orbit somehow. I began inviting her out to eat at my favorite spots, and eventually, as we spent more time together, I knew I had to at least try to see our friendship out for the more that it was becoming. I asked, and, luckily, she said yes! We spent the following month in the bliss of our budding romance.

Of course, the end of the month came, meaning it was time for her to move to Colorado, and as much as I wanted her to stay, I didn’t want to impede her from realizing her dream. We agreed to keep dating long-distance.

What we had together just worked. From the very beginning, we just fit into each other’s lives so perfectly. Even though it wasn’t easy being that far apart, it really gave us the opportunity to grow in our relationship. Plus, the times that I was able to go visit her in Colorado were made all the more sweet by the months spent apart.

I knew Mads was my forever person. And so on October 26, 2024, in the midst of the beauty of the Colorado mountains, I asked the love of my life to marry me.

She blessed me eternally when she said yes.

M&J

Shouts of Joy