Kristen: I’d just drifted off to sleep when a face appeared before me. Handsome, with tan skin, dark hair, bushy eyebrows, light blue eyes and a kind smile… I woke with a start. Why am I dreaming about Kyle? I thought. I don’t even know him.
I had seen Kyle only once, briefly, a few weeks before. I was visiting my friend’s business. Kyle was also there visiting his girlfriend. I thought nothing of it. He was in a relationship. Dating was the furthest thing from my mind. So why was I dreaming about an unavailable guy I’d seen in passing?
I tried to put Kyle out of my thoughts, but the dream stayed with me. I remembered it clearly all the next day, and every so often over the next three months. I couldn’t make sense of why it had made such an impact on me.
Kyle: My buddy Trevor and I pulled into the driveway of his friend’s lake house. Trevor was in town staying with me and mentioned that a group of his college buddies was meeting up at a friend’s for the Fourth of July weekend. I wouldn’t know anyone there, but I’d just gotten out of a serious relationship. The company would do me good. As we got out of the car, Trevor leaned over the hood with a big smile on his face.
“By the way,” he said, “you’re going to meet your future wife here.”
“Dude. What?”
“There’s a girl here I want you to meet,” he said. “You two are perfect for each other.”
I rolled my eyes. No way. The last thing I needed right now was a set-up. We walked down to the dock, where a bunch of people were just returning from a boat ride.
Kristen: I stepped out of my friend’s boat and spotted him immediately. What on earth is Kyle doing here? The guy I’d literally dreamed about was showing up for my Fourth of July weekend? On the dock, everyone was greeting our friend Trevor and meeting the buddy he’d brought with him.
Kyle and I introduced ourselves. It felt strange to officially meet the man from my odd dream.
Over the course of the afternoon, I learned he’d broken up with his girlfriend. I did stop to wonder. The timing…the dream… Was God trying to tell me something? No, it can’t be. Kyle was fresh out of a relationship. I didn’t want to date a guy on the rebound. I immediately put my guard up. Kyle didn’t seem to notice. He kept trying to sit next to me and talk.
Kyle: I hated to admit it, but maybe Trevor was right. There was something about Kristen that drew me to her. When I spotted an empty chair next to her at dinner that first night, I sat down. I wanted to get to know her. It turned out we had another connection besides Trevor. She told me how she’d seen me before at her friend’s business.
Finding out our paths had crossed made me want to talk to her even more. I looked for excuses to strike up conversations with her. I couldn’t tell how she felt about me—she seemed a bit standoffish—but I asked for her number at the end of the weekend and she gave it to me. Maybe I’ll ask her to meet me for coffee, I thought. Something low-key. If she says no, she says no.
Kristen: I’m sure my friends thought I was crazy for brushing off a good-looking and available guy all weekend. Looking back on it now, I think I was scared. Scared because whatever was happening felt bigger than me. Scared because deep down, I knew my life was about to change.
Kyle: Trevor and I left the lake house on Monday and drove back to my place. As I drifted off to sleep that night, a scene played out before me. I was outside. The land was flat and covered in lush green grass. Behind me was a cool lake. Tall maple trees stood on the other side. I looked around to see chairs, decorations, guests…. I was at a wedding. My wedding! A woman stood next to me in a white dress. She turned to me, and I saw it was Kristen. Instead of feeling confused, I felt completely at peace. The whole dream felt so real.
In the light of day, I figured it out. Trevor had just gotten into my head with his teasing.
The following weekend, Trevor and I met our friend Landon for breakfast. He’d just returned from living abroad. I hadn’t seen him in more than three years. The three of us caught up over our meal. Eventually, the subject turned to dating. When I mentioned I was now single, Landon cut in.
“Wait a second,” he said. “I know this girl who would be perfect for you! My friend Kristen.” It was the same Kristen!
Trevor and I looked at each other in shock. Landon had no idea we’d just spent the past three days with her.
I was intrigued by all our shared connections. So, a couple of days later, I asked Kristen out for coffee.
Kristen: When Kyle asked me out, all I could think of was the dream I’d had. I decided to take a chance and say yes. I was glad I did. Kyle was smart, kind and devoted to his faith like me. The coffee date turned into dinner dates. Before I knew it, we’d been dating a few months, and we were in love.
One of my friends was opening a wedding venue. It was a gorgeous property called Marblegate Farm. She kept saying how I needed to come visit the farm and how beautiful it would be for a wedding once it was finished. I could tell she was hoping Kyle would pop the question soon so he and I could get married there. Kyle had been dropping some hints about marriage, but we weren’t there yet.
When Kyle came over, I showed him photos of Marblegate on their website. The grassy fields, the lake, the tall maple trees in the distance… As we clicked through them, a strange look came over Kyle’s face.
“Kristen,” he said, “this place looks oddly similar to a place I dreamed about once….”
Kyle: Our conversation was still on my mind as I drove through the Tennessee countryside to a jobsite a few days later. I worked in construction at the time. I didn’t usually visit jobsites myself, but I needed to see this property in person for their construction request. My company didn’t tell me much about the property other than the address and an overview of what was needed. I didn’t get a chance to tell Kristen what I’d be up to that day.
After I’d explained to her that the photos of Marblegate Farm matched the dream I’d had of our wedding, she’d shared something with me too. She’d told me she’d inexplicably dreamed of my face before we officially met.
Green fields flew by my window as I neared the jobsite. Though we’d been dating less than a year, I was in love with Kristen. Things were moving quickly, but I had never felt so peaceful in a relationship before. It just felt right to be with Kristen. And then there were the dreams we’d just shared with each other. Was it another sign? Was God telling me that it was time to pop the question?
I made a right down a side street, then pulled into a long driveway. I saw a sign overhead. I did a double take. The jobsite I’d been sent to visit was Marblegate Farm.
Kristen: We got married May 5, 2018, some 10 months after our paths first crossed. We said our vows by the lake at Marblegate, just like in Kyle’s dream. And in October 2020, we welcomed a beautiful baby daughter into our family.
Kyle: Every day we feel grateful that God led us to each other with dreams that were meant to come true.
