Meant to Be Together

Sunday afternoon (11/21), Mike Biedermann and I co-officiated Sam and Cody’s wedding ceremony at Dove Ridge Vineyard, in Weatherford, Texas. Here are the remarks I shared with them and their guests:

Sometimes, just telling the couple’s story in their own words produces such a valuable lesson about life and love. This is one of those cases.

Those who know Cody know that like many of us he took what might be called “the scenic route” through college. Reflecting on his educational journey, Cody makes a fascinating and counterintuitive observation: “I have thought if I would have only started with engineering and construction, I would have graduated much sooner. Looking back, I would not change a thing. I would not have been able to experience the different classes I was able to take, I probably would not have met the awesome friends I have now, and I probably would have missed out meeting Sam, who is the best thing to ever happen to me, my best friend, and the love of my life.” 

Now, Sam, on her part didn’t even expect to be at A&M. Being a nice Jewish girl from Texas, she naturally ended up at University of Utah. Huh? She pretty quickly discovered that the only place on earth where Jews are called gentiles was not the ideal place for her. So, she transferred to Texas A&M. There, Sam’s high school friend, and Cody’s fraternity brother set them up, they fell madly in love, had a whirlwind romance, and have been together ever since. Just kidding. That is not at all what happened. 

Why, you may ask? Reasons. She was Jewish, he was Christian. She was liberal, he was conservative. She wanted to move to LA, he wanted to stay in Texas. So, they just became friends. Still, something nagged at them. “Every time I would see her,” Cody says, “I would think to myself, ‘what if we started dating, and what would that be like.’ Every time I saw her, I thought she was a cute, smart, fun, and a wonderful woman to be around and over time I found myself being drawn closer to her.”

Sam graduated and moved away, Cody moved on from Texas A&M, but they both ended up back in DFW. Sam says, “When I would go to the bars in Fort Worth, I would always run into Cody and say hi. My childhood friend started going on dating apps and matched with Cody. I remember… telling her, ‘I love Cody. I know him from college. Great guy. You should go on a date with him.’ Well, they never did, so I ran into him again at the bars a week later and asked if he went on the date with my friend. He told me they never did so I finally felt God was giving me signs for a while now that I just need to ask Cody out. I asked him out and the rest is history.”

Cody sums it up: “Our relationship has been driven by fate. For reasons we can’t describe, we feel God knew we were meant to be together… I was meant to marry Samantha Sternfeld and be with her for the rest of my life, a life I know for certain, will be amazing because I have my person, my best friend, and the love of my life.”