Events By Ashley

"Forever" Friday

Jeff and Noel Buller

As told by Bride Noel

Tim Davis Photography

Jeff and I met at 242 (a young adults group which we attended for years). I was on a 242 retreat one weekend and Joni, Jeff's sister, was there too. One of my friends turned to me and said, "Oh my gosh you have to meet Joni's brother, you two would be great together!" I just laughed and thought nothing of it. A few months later I am sitting next to that same friend at 242; she nudges my arm and says, "ohh my, turn around, Joni's brother Jeff is here!" I turned around and looked, then said back, "ehhhh.. he's not my type!" He was wearing a Hurley hat and Chuck Taylors which made me think he was a total punk kid.... I was wrong :) Soon enough we started hanging out with the same group of friends and getting to know each other. At that time I was taking two-stepping lessons with some friends when one Monday night guess who shows up? Jeff! This was his attempt at getting to know me better. That night I stayed late to help him with his two-stepping... That is where it all began. Jeff and I started dating shortly after; we were best friends and enjoyed nothing more then spending time together. We spent a great deal of time with each other’s family and went on many fun adventures together; everything was wonderful, but something didn’t feel 100% right.

 Jeff and I dated for about a year and a half when we decided to take a step away from our relationship and spend a greater amount of time seeking out the Lord to see what His will for us as individuals and as a couple was. This was literally one of the hardest decisions I have ever made in my life. Here we were, best friends and we loved each other dearly, but we decided to take a break. During this break we both immediately started individual counseling with Randy Storms to really look into the people that we were and how our pasts had influenced our lives. We spent three months actively pursuing the Lord and His will for our lives and our possible life together. Those three months were the toughest yet sweetest months I’ve ever experience. We only saw each other every Thursday night; we would sit in his truck and talk about our counseling that week and how the Lord was working in our hearts. It was so neat to have a front row seat to each other’s transforming hearts. As those three months passed by we started spending more time together and it finally became clear that what we desired so deeply, which was to be together, was also the Lord’s plan for us! How neat and how amazing that our God heard our cries, desires of our hearts, and answered our prayers! We began dating again just three months after we began our break and started counseling. Once we began dating again we knew this was it, we were committed, and we knew that we were being called to marriage.

Just a few short months after we began dating again, Jeff showed up at my house on a Friday morning and told me to pack a bag. He had already called into work for me. He whisked me away to California where he had an amazing weekend planned out for us. On Saturday evening, at sunset, he took me to a beach in Malibu where I had to climb huge rocks to make it to a secluded beach. On the beach, behind a rock, there was a blanket covered in seashells, candles, and pictures of us. He had written our love story on the back of these pictures from before we started dating until that very moment... He asked me to stand up; he proceeded to tell me how much he loved me and how thankful he was for all the work that God has done in our relationship.. He got on one knee and asked me to be his wife. I didn't say yes.. I said OF COURSE! J Three and a half short months later we were married! June 1^st, 2012 was the most incredible day of my life and I praise God for His work and His provision! I am so fortunate and richly blessed to have such an amazing husband and best friend in Jeff.

When I look back at our Love Story its easy for me to think, gosh, dating, taking time apart, then dating again? Really? That is not the love story that I dreamed about having when I was a little girl. But you know what? This was a story about the Lord, and the work that He can do. During those three months Jeff and I spent apart, God completely transformed our hearts and our love for each other and also for our hearts for Him. We are forever thankful! J

Tim Davis Photography

Tim Davis Photography