“A 5-week foundation to support a 2-year distance relationship, 5 job changes in 3 years, and planning a wedding amidst a global pandemic.  A list that was sure to bring with it years of post traumatic stress–yet we stand on the other side smiling and laughing as we thank God for this path he set us on.  Romans 8:28 is an almost perfect summation of God’s providence in our journey. We jumped into an ocean of unknowns with faith that God would guide us through, and His light illuminated blessings that we could have never expected.  

In 2019 we met and started attending Trinity. Aasha had aspirations of making the 2020 Canadian Olympic Track and Field Team and was given the opportunity to train with a great coach out in New Mexico.  So, rationally, after 5 weeks of dating, we decided we were ready for a year long commitment to dating distance. At the end of 2020 it became clear that a 1 year distance relationship was turning into 2 years as the pandemic extended the Olympic timeline. 

After two years, a closed Canadian border and an inability to compete in Canadian Nationals put the final nail in Aasha’s hopes of making the Canadian team.  We’d spent two years apart in an attempt to attain a goal that would not be realized.  Aasha moved back to California, starting from square one with a new job, new apartment, and uncertainty about God’s plan for her and her track career.  While spending time refocusing on her relationship and her Church community, God opened a new door in the form of a new coach that had been making a mark in the sport and was looking to refocus his career on remote coaching professionals like Aasha. 

In December, with a new track season on the horizon, we would get engaged.  A blessing that would bring with it many obstacles–as a fresh track and field season would be accompanied with wedding planning, premarital counseling, and yet another job change.  About a month before the wedding, as all of the final details began to solidify, Aasha would be let go by her company as they struggled to adapt to a post-covid economy.  With nothing left to do but make final payments to vendors and our venue, calling the timing inopportune would be an understatement, but God provided and we were married on October 22nd before God, friends, and family. 

With each and every hurdle we faced, we were reminded how great God’s provision is and how much Romans 8:28 rings true in our life.  A forced distance relationship that made us think intentionally about our relationship and ultimately grow closer than if we were together, a pandemic that allowed us to attend church together remotely despite being in different states, and job changes that have allowed God to place us in the best positions to use our gifts to serve Him.  When one door closed, God opened the next and uncertainty was met with quiet as we waited for God to speak life into his vision for us.  We handed God a meager toolkit and he has built a beautiful home amidst the most unlikely of circumstances.  Our happy union stands as a testimony and “we know that all that happens to us is working for our good if we love God and are fitting into his plans”.

-Aasha and Jake