There are roughly 2,360 days between March 2, 2012, and August 21, 2018. And man, did they fly.

On Tuesday night (Aug. 21), during Dustin Lynch's performance at the Grand Ole Opry, Trace Adkins walked onstage to invite Lynch to be a member of the Opry. "It is at the top of my list of achievements," Adkins told Lynch. "I'm here to tell you that when you play here on Sept. 18, it will be as the newest member of the Grand Ole Opry. This is not something that is taken lightly around here."

Both of their cowboy hats came off, then there was a round of hugs and high fives for everyone on the legendary stage. Then, as Lynch fought back tears, he tried to tell the crowd how much the invitation meant to him, and how long it's been since he's been thinking about it. "'Cowboys and Angels' was the very first song I got to play on the Opry," Lynch said. "March 2, 2012. I'll never forget that day."

"Cowboys and Angels" was Lynch's debut single in 2012, off his self-titled debut album. He wrote the ballad with Josh Leo and Tim Nichols.

Chris Janson was one of the first artists to give Lynch a social media shout out. "Dude now we are for real Brothers! Congrats on the @opry induction. So proud of you, Love u man. It’s big time, brother!!!!"