Every chance I have to document the love between two individuals I find myself privileged and grateful. Life itself is a gift (which I’ve been acutely aware of recently), but love? … Love seems like an exponentially greater gift that not all of us are able to know. Finding a person among the millions of individuals that exist on this earth with whom you are compatible, attracted to, and willing to love no matter how great the risk seems like a mere impossibility. Left to chance encounters, I sometimes find myself wondering how it would ever happen, and instead marveling at the rarity of two souls choosing love, life together, and risk.

Lydia is one of those people in my life who’s love I find myself having a whole different kind of celebration for. I lived with Lydia for about three years, and have known her much before that even. She is one of the kindest, sweetest souls I’ve known. She’s very matter of fact (she’s a nurse and is so good at it), but also fun and incredibly easy to be around. One of my favorite memories of her is how our third roommate, Samantha, and I would hear her running through the house. We’d start giggling and ask, “What in the world is going on?!” to which Lydia would respond, “Sometimes it’s just more fun to run from room to room … it gets you there faster, burns some calories, and is just plain FUN!”

Needless to say, we had lots of laughter in that house, and I will forever remember that season as one that was very easy. I have been very fortunate to have some incredible, amazing roommates in my lifetime. Lydia and Champ, I could not be more happy for you two. You have no idea how much it warms my heart to see the love you two have found. My hope and my prayer for you is that you would choose to risk your hearts daily for the sake of loving one another …  that you would be quick to forgive and slow to anger … that even in the midst of all the hectic wedding planning you would find yourselves overwhelmed by the beautiful gift that sits beside you … that you would learn to love one another well.