The Engagement Story.

You all have been waiting so patiently for the story of my engagement nearly two weeks ago. It’s been a complete whirlwind of surprises, wedding planning, and sharing in the new “engaged” status with Jason. It’s fun to be at this unique stage of almost one – but not yet.

On the Friday before Jason asked me to marry him on Wednesday, he began sending me emails and little cards with very sweet reminders of things he appreciated about our relationship. Each day had a new theme – music we both like, pre-in-person-meeting emails, our shared love of exercise, etc. – and a new gift to go along with it. Every day I was reminded of his thoughtfulness and in the back of my mind I thought this was probably moving towards his proposal…but at the rate he was choosing topics, I thought it would take weeks.

On Wednesday morning, I got a card with a bike on it and it said “we make quite a team” on the inside. I was so excited because just the week before, we had looked at matching bikes. We decided to wait to purchase them. But, on this day, I was convinced I was getting a new bike later in the day! I was excited about the bike and even told the girls I work with that I was probably getting a new bike that day. Now that I look back on it, it sort of makes me laugh.

Jason had asked me to meet him at a local church at 4:00 p.m. When we got there, we looked around a bit and he walked me to the front of the room. There was a table there with a book on it. The book was tied with ribbon and he told me this was a gift for me. The book has scripture on the front and a short introduction:
“Today I want to remember the central aspect of our relationship. This is Christ and following God’s plan for our lives. It was God who brought us together and it is through Christ that we will continue to walk together the rest of the days of our lives”.

Followed by this picture…(as seen in a previous post)
The rest of the book contained a few more passages of scripture and a printed oath from Jason, taken from a traditional Christian ceremony, which was used for centuries as couples entered into engagement.

When I turned, he was already on his knee. I remember thinking I couldn’t wait to say yes!

We sat together for an hour or so while he told me about his quest for the perfect ring and timing. We didn’t call anyone. We didn’t talk about the wedding. We just enjoyed the several minutes of peace – shared with just us - and took a few self-portraits...

Jason had then arranged several plans for the remainder of the evening. He invited my mom (flew her in from Abilene), dad, and grandparents to join us at Bonnell’s – my favorite Fort Worth restaurant. Next he had arranged for our Life Group from church to surprise me with an impromptu engagement party with friends. It was perfect – such a nice balance of being able to share the day with Jason, my family, and our church community here in Fort Worth.

We are so excited about the life God has for us together! The overwhelming feeling I have each day is gratitude. I am so grateful for God’s faithfulness. I am so grateful for His timing, and I am so grateful for the tremendous gift I have in Jason…

p.s. Check out the ring!