Wedding portrait of Lela and Oji Fagan standing together overlooking Niagara Falls, featured on a blog graphic titled "The List Knew Before I Did," part of the Found in the Margins series about healing, faith, friendship, and God's timing.

The List Knew Before I Did: How a Forgotten List Led Me Back to Love | Found in the Margins Part 4

When I was nineteen years old, I wrote a list. Not a prayer list. Not a vision board. Just a handwritten list of qualities I hoped to find in a future husband someday. Then I forgot about it. Life happened. Grief happened. Healing happened. Years passed. What I didn't know was that God was doing a deeper work in me long before I would reconnect with the man who would eventually become my husband. Part 4 of Found in the Margins explores the surprising connection between a forgotten list, a season of personal growth, an old friendship rekindled, and the realization that sometimes God's preparation isn't about finding the right person—it's about becoming the right person.
Some goals aren't destinations. They're directions.

Seven Things I Wanted to Fix About Myself | Found in the Margins Part 3

In 2009, I wrote a list of seven areas where I wanted to grow. Communication. Trust. Understanding. Financial wisdom. Relationships. Weight loss. Peace within my family. At the time, I thought it was a goals list. Looking back, it was really a roadmap. Years later, I realized something surprising: most of those goals never had an expiration date. Some were accomplished. Others evolved. A few are still works in progress. This installment of Found in the Margins explores what happened when I rediscovered a forgotten list and realized that growth isn't something you finish—it's something you live.
The Year I Thought I Had to Start Over

The Year I Thought I Was Starting Over | Found in the Margins Part 2

In 2009, I thought I was starting over. A ministry chapter had ended. My future felt uncertain. Yet hidden inside that difficult season were friendships, healing, a first book, renewed confidence, and the early chapters of a love story I couldn't yet see. Seventeen years later, I understand something I didn't know then: I wasn't starting over. I was rebuilding.