As 2022 drew to an end, they discovered a shared passion for snowboarding and desire to visit a mutual friend in D.C. The holiday season took him to Arizona and her to Rhode Island, but thoughts about her and the time they might get to spend together in the new year lingered on his mind.

Back home, his mom asked him the perennial question of whether there were any updates to his love life. Usually there weren't, but this time he promptly pulled up a video of her leading worship at church. “She’s beautiful,” his mom delighted. He agreed.

Throughout the holidays, he unexpectedly found himself asking God for clarity and peace about her.

Lo and behold, they reunited in Boston in the new year and joined their friends on a snowboarding trip that weekend. She was, to his pleasant surprise, a much better snowboarder than he was.

A week later, they attended a church retreat together in New Hampshire, where he weaseled his way into her car to and from. On the return trip one late Saturday evening, they dreamed about ministry in the city they so loved. Desperately wanting to continue the conversation as she dropped him off at home, he asked nervously if she wanted to grab ice cream at New City Microcreamery and get a tour of MIT.

It was far too cold a winter evening for ice cream and a stroll, so he knew she wasn’t too repulsed by him when she accepted the offer.

A few days later, she invited him to join her on a prayer walk around Harvard, his future stomping grounds. He eagerly accepted (“squealed with delight” is more accurate).

Finally, a few days after that, he asked her if she wanted to grab hot chocolate at L.A. Burdick in Harvard Square. He was convinced that sparks were flying between them (though he later found out this was simply delusion), so he was determined to ask her out on a date.

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