Another Camp Couple Going to the Chapel!

I met Becca Hart our first summer working at Camp Vesper Point in 2006. We were both in Cabin 15 for Staff Training and quickly formed a bond between us and a few other girls. These girls were who I stayed with on the weekends and hung out with on the dock and Sugar Shack...that is a true definition of a camp friendship! :) This was also the summer the Matt and Becca met. I don't remember the first time I heard Becca talk about her crush on Matt, but I knew pretty well by the end of our first term together that there was something there. Lo and behold, they were dating by the start of the school year. 

The following summer, I was so grateful to have a close friend back at my favorite place. This summer had such a different vibe, as every summer at CVP does, but it was great being a veteran at this whole counselor thing. Becca and I stayed close the 2nd summer and since both of our boyfriends were friends, we could relate to relationship woes and went on a double date to the TN Aquarium too. I loved that Matt and Becca had been together for almost a year and to see how their relationship had progressed as well as seeing mine and Becca's friendship evolve!

After that summer, Becca transferred to Furman which was much closer to Matt--a blessing I know for both of them! Becca and I sporadically kept in touch, but I always heard about her and Matt's relationship and was so encouraged.

She and I went too long before seeing each other again, but finally got together and had lunch for over 4 hours the winter of our Senior year! We promised to never go that long without seeing each other again and so far it's been a promise well kept! I got to visit her at Furman later that spring too.

She and I both started our first summer at camp after our freshman year, so it was truly a blessing of a friendship to have someone that was experiencing very similar life situations throughout our college years. Something I especially loved was getting to hear about her relationship with Matt progressing, especially because I knew him as a friend rather than just my friend's boyfriend.

Becca went to grad school in Ohio when I moved to Chattanooga the fall after our senior years in college. Conveniently for me, Matt's family lives in Chattanooga so I was almost guaranteed a visit with my friend when she came into town to see him between his traveling for work. What really spoiled me was during the summer of 2010 when Becca got an internship in Chattanooga and we were BOTH living on Signal Mountain together at the same time. Our favorite spot to catch up was getting coffee at the Signal McDonald's! haha Even though she was living in Matt's house, they still had a long distance relationship. The handful of LDR's that I've been in were not easy by any means, so I cannot imagine keeping it up for nearly as long as they did.

God does funny things sometimes and their relationship was long distance no longer in January of 2011 when Matt was diagnosed with Leukemia. Thankfully, Becca's school was super understanding and she basically picked up and moved back into Matt's parents home so that she could be there for him. I have admired few other people as much as I admired Becca during this time in their life. She was so strong, caring, and was Matt's cheerleader day in and day out. The time she and I spent together was so precious to me during that time for so many reasons, but I don't think she will ever know how much respect I gained for her.

I loved getting to do fun "take her mind of things" things with Becca like frequent coffee dates, lunches, and even a day at the spa getting massages! I was so grateful that I was able to share this time with Becca as she was able to spend this time with Matt. Regardless of the circumstances, Matt and Becca's relationship seemed to grow stronger.

Since Matt's mobility with large crowds was still pretty limited in the early fall of 2011 after his bone marrow transplant, Becca asked me to be her date to a wedding in North Georgia and I gladly accepted! I LOVE that Becca and I have had little fun trips, lunch dates, and coffee dates at McDonald's to keep our friendship growing over the years whether we were in the same city, state, or neither. And something I love just as much is that Matt has been apart of Becca's life for almost as long as she and I have been friends.

This Saturday, I get to experience seeing Matt and Becca become husband and wife after years of patience, love, hardship, and trusting in God. What a beautiful celebration it's going to be! Knowing Becca, I know that she has spent so much time, thought, and effort into planning this wedding. And selfishly, I'm pretty excited about getting to see other camp friends and spend a weekend in the Scenic City.

HAPPY WEDDING WEEKEND MATT AND BECCA!! ENJOY EVERY SINGLE SECOND OF IT--YOUR RELATIONSHIP DESERVES EVERY BIT OF CELEBRATION!