Y'all. If you’ve ever been awkward in a crush, you’ll feel right at home in Ben and Ali’s story. Their first date? Easily the “worst date either of us have ever been on.” They awkwardly navigated “friend zone” and “little brother zone,” stumbled through miscommunications, a closed restaurant, and—the kicker—a medical emergency for Ben that neither of them saw coming. Sometimes the thing God’s writing is NOT a straight line, and it’s not Insta-cute either.

But as they shared, the magic happened in the unlikely parts: two-hour conversations that felt seamless, a spiritual and emotional chemistry that trumped their anxieties about the age gap, and the realization that deep compatibility has a lot more to do with heart posture than birth years.

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Let’s be real—age gap couples face a LOT of opinions. Friends, family, even new acquaintances can pull back, switch relational dynamics, or just straight-up question your judgment. Ali says her friends, not her family, gave her the most pushback—worried Ben might “lack experience, lack life understanding.” Ben shares how people’s attitudes would shift once they found out their ages, sometimes moving from peer-to-peer conversation into a (lowkey patronizing) “top-down” mentorship approach.

That sting? It’s real. And it can be complicated to navigate—even for the most spiritually mature couple. Ben and Ali’s advice? Don’t automatically disqualify someone based on age but instead look deeply for emotional and spiritual compatibility. “Don’t allow age to be the rubric by which you judge your relationship,” Ben urges. If the important things are lined up—vision, maturity, spiritual alignment—the number becomes less relevant.

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One of the most profound takeaways from Ben and Ali is how their journey forced BOTH to dig deeper into humility, self-growth, and surrender. Ben’s story included hitting rock-bottom, wrestling with God through physical illness and heartbreak, and discovering what full submission felt like. For Ali, the challenge was releasing control and allowing God to write a new chapter—one she hadn’t scripted out.

An age gap magnifies some practical hurdles (combining already-built lives, fast-tracking maturity, learning new rhythms), but it also illuminates God’s ability to use the “taboo” and the unexpected for incredible good. They challenge us: don’t box God in. “God all the time uses...the thing that we think is not how it should work.”

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At the end of the day, Ben and Ali’s story is an invitation to lay down the neat expectations, the timelines, and the cultural rules we’re told to follow. God’s creativity is relentless—and way more fun than anything we could orchestrate on our own.

So fam, whether you’re considering an age gap romance, feeling boxed in by stereotypes, or just wondering if you’re disqualifying the person God’s bringing your way, let Ben and Ali’s vulnerability breathe courage into your journey. You’re not too old, too young, too anything for God’s unexpected best.

Until next week, keep your hearts open for the unexpected—and remember: God delights in shattering our boxes.

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