It was such an incredible weekend celebrating not just two of my favorite people, but one of my favorite love stories. A weekend filled with joy, laughter, and a love story that doesn’t just inspire, it points directly to the faithfulness of God. Because Zach and Stephanie’s story isn’t just about finding the right person. It’s about surrendering to the right timing.
What started in Huntsville in 2020 with connection, faith, and a shared love for Jesus was followed by seasons of distance. Stephanie moved back to New Jersey, then to North Carolina. Life pulled them into different places, different rhythms, different chapters. And like a lot of stories, it could have easily stayed there as a “what could have been.”
But God wasn’t finished writing.
So often, you hear the phrase “right person, wrong timing.” And if we’re honest, it can quietly become an excuse to hold on… or a reason to wait on something God never asked us to wait for. But their story flips that idea on its head.
What makes their story so powerful is that they weren’t sitting around labeling each other as “right person, wrong timing.” They weren’t passively waiting for life to line up. They were actively pursuing God. While seasons changed…While distance stretched across states…While life pulled them in completely different directions… They stayed focused on Him. And that’s the difference. Because when your eyes are fixed on your own timing, you either rush ahead or sit still. But when your eyes are fixed on God, you move when He says move and trust when He says wait.
And I got to witness the moment where everything shifted.
It was years later in October of 2023. Stephanie was coming to town to visit family, and Zach took this as an opportunity to catch up. Zach picked her up from the airport, taken her on a date… and after Steph had left to go back to North Carolina and after the rush of feelings and the dust had settled, Zach and I were sitting on the couch afterward in that in-between space where things were moving and reconnection had started. A crossroads moment as she was hundreds of miles away.
The kind of moment where fear gets loud. Because long distance isn’t easy. History isn’t light. And when you’ve been hurt before, your instinct isn’t to lean in… It’s to protect yourself. And he was honest about that. He said in moments like this before, he would bail. Not because he didn’t care but because fear convinced him it was safer to walk away than risk being hurt again. And that’s where most people stay. Right there. Living guarded. Playing it safe. Calling it wisdom… when it’s really fear.
But this time was different.
Because instead of letting fear decide for him…He chose to confront it. And I truly believe the Spirit met him in that moment. Because what he said next wasn’t hesitation but conviction. He said he wasn’t going to run this time. He wasn’t going to bail when things got hard. He wasn’t going to let fear write the story. He was going all in. Not halfway. Not cautiously. Not with an exit plan.
All in.
He was going to pursue her fully… Push through the fear… And trust God with whatever came from it. And the powerful part is, he didn’t just say it. He lived it. Because right after that, you saw it unfold: Flights to North Carolina every couple weeks. Intentional pursuit across state lines. Showing up again and again.
Flying to New Jersey to meet her family…Then driving eight hours to North Carolina with her dog. That’s not convenience. That’s commitment. That’s what it looks like when courage replaces fear. And that moment and decision to step into fear instead of away from it that’s where their story changed.
Because Zach and Stephanie didn’t build their relationship on comfort. They built it on faith. And in that faith, God did what only He can do. He aligned cities. He orchestrated moments. He redeemed distance. He brought two lives back together and not when it was convenient, but when it was right. Not right in their timing. Right in His.
From a small group in Huntsville…To seasons in New Jersey and North Carolina…To long distance, long drives, and intentional pursuit…To a beach, a ring, and a “yes” under fireworks… This wasn’t a coincidence. This was providence. A love story written not by chance, but by the steady, faithful hand of God. And maybe that’s the reminder for all of us:
The goal isn’t to find the right person at the right time. The goal is to seek God with everything you have… And when fear shows up, because it will, you don’t run from it. You step through it. Because on the other side of that obedience might just be the very story God is trying to write.
Right person.
God’s timing.
And it’s always worth the wait.
May this truth remind us that fear doesn’t disqualify us but it’s often the very place where God invites us to trust Him deeper. May we not settle for what feels safe, but step into what God is calling us toward. And may we have the courage to go all in trusting that in His perfect timing, He is writing something far greater than we ever could.