Dating

Photos By: McGee Creative // Location: Top of the Rock // Planner: Bringing It Together Events

David first caught sight of Lexie at a birthday party over five years previously. That look led to a conversation which sparked an instant connection leading to “a natural love,” as Lexie describes. From that first moment, David was drawn to Lexie’s love of the outdoors, a shared interest. He was also drawn to Lexie’s passion to serve and to her appreciation of music. Lexie was drawn to David’s sweet personality and to his genuinely kind soul.

The pair had their first date soon after that initial meeting. Little did they know that they were beginning a journey toward a lifelong commitment with circumstances that would test them, and ultimately, make them stronger.

Lexie was a junior in college at Arkansas State University in Jonesboro during the couple’s first year of dating, while David worked out of St. Louis on a riverboat transporting grain. This job meant that David was gone six months out of the year. The couple had to come up with new ways to get to know each other during this year.

“This was a new kind of relationship for both of us,” Lexie said. “We had to be creative at long distance and no-phone-service dating. Care packages and four-hour phone calls were our way of getting to know each other. We were blessed after one very long year when David could move home and help me get through my last years of college. Little did we understand at the time just how important it was for him to move home.”  

In 2015, Lexie was diagnosed with carcinoid cancer, a slow-growing cancer that typically occurs in the digestive tract and is treated usually by surgery. It is a cancer that often goes undetected until an older age. Lexie underwent multiple surgeries in just a few months.

“Lexie's surgeon said that she was the youngest patient for which he had performed cancer surgery because you don't find this cancer until people are typically much older,” said Joy, Lexie’s mother. “David never left her side through any of it. He is the kindest, gentlest giant of a person you’ll ever meet. We love him. He saved Lexie’s life. How could we not?”         

“I always felt beautiful,” Lexie said. “During the time that I had surgery, that wasn’t the prettiest time in my life. I remember before I went into surgery, I just felt beautiful. He made sure that I always felt that way, no matter what. After surgery, those were the first things I heard – ‘you look so beautiful.’ I never questioned whether he was going to be there. I never felt like I had to put on makeup. I just felt pretty. He still looked at me the same.” They realized how precious their lives and time together truly were. During this time, they focused on living life to the fullest.

Spontaneity became the anthem of their lives. They traveled, camped, went to as many concerts as they could, met new and interesting people, and simply lived. They said that their focus was to stay grounded and try to remind themselves of the true nature of life.

“It's not that we thought I was even going to die. We knew that I was going to be okay, but the experience of being sick made it so clear how precious and short life really is and we wanted to soak up every moment," Lexie said.

Lexie said it was David who acted as the conductor of their spontaneity. As she struggled and thought twice about things in this difficult time, David made sure that they didn’t say “no” to experiences and opportunities to be with others.

David said that the moment he knew he loved Lexie, and wanted to spend the rest of his life with her, happened a few days before her first surgery. “We were at this concert and out of nowhere they played this song ‘For What it’s Worth’ by Buffalo Springfield. I looked over and she was just belting it out, singing the song. And I thought ‘I’m gonna marry that girl’.”