LOVE feature
Story by Ashley Elvington • Photography by Laura McBryde
SAMANTHA WEISBECK
& NATHAN POE
worth the wait
AS A CHILD, SAMANTHA WEISBECK ATTENDED CHURCH. Too young to fully grasp the concept of Christ and His never-ending
love at the time, she wasn’t invested in learning more about Him. A catalyst was sparked in 2012, however, when she attended a Matthew West
concert. “As he was singing the lyrics, ‘If our God is for us, then who could ever stop us? And if our God is with us, then what can stand against?’ I
felt His presence come into the room. I found myself responding, almost naturally, by lifting my hands to Him. That moment truly marked me.” Her
relationship with God would play a pivotal role in all other interactions she would have.
In December 2014, Samantha met Nathan Poe. “I remember seeing him around Downtown Columbia and he always caught my attention. One
night, he introduced himself. As we started talking, the conversation came very easily to us. His personality stood out so much to me because he
was so different than any other guy I’d met.” Due to bad experiences with guys in the past, Samantha had put up a wall around her heart. But once
she was around Nathan, a peace flowed within her. “I had confidence that I could trust who he was.” Samantha left quite an impression upon him
as well. “When I saw her, she was the only one that I could see... Something about her stood out from the rest.” At the time, Samantha and Nathan
weren’t spiritually in the best place. However, God had plans for the two of them. “After Nathan and I had been dating for a few months, I asked him
if I could visit his church, Hope Chapel. I’ll never forget the first service and feeling the passionate love the church members had for God and the
love God had for them. It felt more within my reach than I had ever known was possible. It was not long after that when I decided to say yes to this
amazing journey and relationship with the Lord.” During this time, Nathan noticed a changed within Samantha.
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FEBUARY 2016
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