“Because you were everything I never believed I deserved. And part of me thought…if I let myself really love you, I’d ruin it.”
“You could never ruin it,” I say. “But I get it. I do. I’ve ruined things before by trying too hard to hold on. But this, what we have now, it’s not something we’re holding up on our own.”
She nods, quiet again for a moment before speaking. “I don’t want to rush anything. But I also don’t want to live like I’m scared of love anymore.”
A smile tugs at the corners of my mouth. “That sounds like faith to me.”
“I want our foundation to be solid,” she continues. “Built on Him. Not just feelings.”
“Then let’s build it together,” I say. “Slow. Intentional. Faith-first. No pressure. Just…pursuit.”
She leans into me, head resting on my chest. “Okay.”
For a moment, we just sit like that, the night quiet around us, the city lights flickering below like scattered stars.
Then I shift slightly, pulling out my phone and opening my Notes app.
“What are you doing?” she asks, tilting her head to look up at me.
I smile, thumbing in a new title.
“I want to write it down,” I say quietly. “So we remember. So we can come back to it when things get hard. This is our start.”
And I begin to type, reading it aloud as I go.
Gray + Ivy Pursuing Jesus & Each Other:
Jesus first, always.
We pray together before big decisions.
No being alone behind closed doors.
We protect physical boundaries — save sex for marriage.
We pursue emotional intimacy more than physical.
