Dear ________,

I hope that one day, the two of us will cross paths without knowing each other at all. I hope that we will smile at each other and continue on with our separate lives and think nothing of it.

I hope that our love story is simple.

When we meet for the second time, I hope that it is innocent. A couple of friends hanging out -- casual. I hope that we can get to know each other as friends first. Maybe then we will learn each other’s favorite movies and least favorite professors. We can talk about funny memories and maybe sad ones too. We’ll get to know each other’s friends and start looking forward to the Friday nights spent together talking about nonsense in the world and laughing over Uno Draw Four cards.

I hope that we will fall in love slowly.

I hope that one Sunday you invite me to church with you and on the drive back we talk about how we each met Jesus. Maybe your story will make me cry. I hope that when you drop me off you will ask me to join you for the next week, and the week after that too.

I hope that I will say yes.

Eventually, our Friday night group may disintegrate, but I hope that our memories will live on. Maybe you’ll ask me out to dinner instead and we’ll talk about our first loves and what we learned from them. I hope you will have had your heart broken so that you know what it feels like to lose someone. I hope that you will have learned from the mistakes of your past relationships.

I hope that we can learn from each other’s.

I hope that one day you will tell your mother about me. And in the empty space between you two, I hope that you will whisper that you love me, and that I just might be the one.

I hope that you will be absolutely sure of it.

I hope that one day, you will sit down with me and tell me that you want to spend the rest of your life with me. I hope that when you say that you love me, you will mean it. More importantly, I hope you will love Jesus more. I hope that when you will ask me to be your wife you ache with anticipation, and when I say yes, you want to tell your mother first.

I hope that on our wedding day, you and I will sit divided by a wall and thank Jesus for tying our heartstrings together. I hope that we will pray for patience and devotion and remember to do this even when it gets hard. I hope that in our vows we will promise to love each other despite our shortcomings and remember them when we fail. I hope that when I walk down the aisle your face lights up with joy.

I’m sure that mine will too.