Dez’s Birthday

The day the longed-for one arrived — wished from the stars, and given.

The Nativity of St John the Baptist. One of the oldest feasts in the Christian calendar. John was the longed-for child — born to Elizabeth and Zechariah after years of barrenness and prayer, the angel’s words being “your prayer has been heard.” Dezré, “the desired one,” born on the feast of the answered-prayer child. And more: Jesus called John “a burning and shining lamp” (John 5:35) — a light sent ahead. John the Baptist’s motto was “He must increase, but I must decrease” (John 3:30) — the exact meaning of Clint’s middle name, Joseph.

Clint’s Birthday

The day the rock was set — one year and five days after hers, steadfast right behind her, where he has been ever since.

“You are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church” (Matthew 16:18) — the man given the keys of the kingdom. Clint, whose name means the rock, who will bear the name Parker, “the keeper given the keys,” was born on the feast of the Rock and the keys. And Paul, sharing the feast, was the apostle who crossed seas to distant lands.

Her Stillness Begins

Dez, single — the start of fifteen years of walking alone. Being still, and knowing.

Dez’s Baptism

The day she went under the water and rose surrendered. Her song: “I Surrender All.” Her verse: “Be still, and know that I am God” (Psalm 46:10).

His Stillness Begins

Clint, single — six years of ground being cleared for what was coming.

Famous Last Words

Asked by her parents about dating again, Dez scoffed: “That will be the day! God will have to send me a husband because I am too busy and impossible to find and I’m not putting myself out there!”

Noted. Three months later, He did.

The Answer Begins

They became friends on Discord and shared art. Clint had begun praying for a wife a month before — but that same morning he went to church, filled out a prayer card, and prayed for a wife once more. By evening, she was there.

The Prayer Pact

On the first day of the year, Dez commits to praying for Clint — for his life — and he agrees to do the same for her. “2026 is your year, yes. I believe that. To be completely renewed like an eagle after having all its feathers plucked out, you can return stronger and better off than before.”

“If you let go and let God, he can replace that desire for excitement with a different kind of peace, love, joy that’s not so immediately thrilling and yet much deeper, intense, calmer, and long lasting.”

The Real Conversation

Dez woke with a strong impression: they should start a podcast together — and the real conversation began. As she would later quote: “I said I was going to pray for you, not pray for you.”

The Beginning

The first day — when the longing found the rock. Begun on the eve of Epiphany, the feast of those who crossed from a distant land, following a light, bearing gold. Her whole journey, told in the calendar.

Clint would say it plainly: he knew the first time he heard her voice.

Clint’s Baptism

The rock went under the water — on Easter Sunday itself, the feast of resurrection. Fourteen years after her, following her through the same water, right on time.

His verses: “Think not that I am come to send peace on earth: I came not to send peace, but a sword” (Matthew 10:34) — and “Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends” (John 15:13).

The Promise

Engaged — the day the keeper asked, and the desired one said yes. Two names agreeing to become one garden.

Six Months

Half a year of Clint & Dez — begun on a fifth, counted on the fifths. The epic, six months in.