Our Love Story

On this day on the heels of Valentine's Day.

4 years ago.

Sunday, February 15, 2009.

The love of my life asked me to be his wife.

Before our entire church, family, our closest friends & God.

This is our love story.

In March 2008, the Lord led me to an amazing body of believers. It was a small community at the time...about 50 people...in the process of planting a church. After attending 1 service, I knew God led me there for a reason and immediately joined forces with this dynamic group of church planters on a mission to make God known in the community.

2 weeks after attending that first service, I met him. My husband.

We ended up serving in the same ministry.

From the very beginning, there was just something about him.

His gentle spirit. His sense of humor. His willingness to serve.

His love for the Lord. 

We played cat & mouse for about 4 months.

I had a feeling he was interested in me.

But I did my best to keep my distance. To guard my heart.

Because, after all, I wasn't positive that he was interested.

One day in July, I received a text from him.

He wanted to play a little game of 20 questions. ;)

The rules were as follows:

He got to text the first question.

I answer & follow with a question.

The first few questions were pretty light.

What's your favorite color? Favorite song? Favorite food? Etc.

And that continued until 11 that night.

The last question (from him): Are you attracted to me?

So the cat was finally out of the bag.

And our whirlwind courtship began.

{August 2008 | Our first official date}

An engagement dinner for one of his childhood friends.

{February 2009 | A Valentine's event at our church}

The night before he proposed.

He acted SUPER awkward that night. Now I know why.

But I was just glad to be in his presence, so I mostly ignored the awkwardness.

SIDE NOTE: What in the WORLD was going on with my hair?

Not sure if we were in 2009 or 1989. Geez. :|

I digress.

On the day he proposed, I served & attended the first service.

He didn't have to serve that day, so he showed up toward the end of the first service.

And convinced me to stay for the second service.

I obliged because, again, I loved being in his presence.

My parents decided to visit our church that day.

Which wasn't out of the ordinary.

I also noticed a few of his friends and his mom showed up for service.

Which again wasn't out of the ordinary.

Do you see a trend here?

Me = Clueless.

So service starts.

He gets up to "use the bathroom".

Again, I knew the flow of service because I'd already been to the first service.

So imagine my shock when he gets up on stage. And starts talking about love.

 

Suddenly, it dawned on me.

All of those people...my friends, family, his friends, family...

Were there for us. 

Duh. He was about to PROPOSE!

You see, we had only been dating for 7 months. 

And we'd talked about marriage, but I wasn't expecting a ring anytime soon.

Certainly not after only 7 months.

This was probably the point where I finally figured out what was going on.

I was also completely oblivious to the fact that I was being photographed.

Clearly, everybody else was in on the little secret.

Including my BFF, Jaclyn.

Who conveniently decided to come into town for a visit that weekend.

He showed this video chronicling our love story.

Starring two adorable little actors.

Kendall (my stepdaughter) as me.

And my nephew, Dominick, as him.

I was invited to come on stage.

And was so glad that table was there because I seriously felt like I couldn't stand up on my own.

Honestly, the rest is a blur.

He said a few words.

Then got down on one knee.

And asked me to be his wife.

Of course, I said YES!

Hugs & congratulations all around.

I didn't break out into the ugly cry until I saw my other BFF, Veronica.

She drove down from Houston that morning to be there for us.

For whatever reason, it all became very real at that moment.
I was so overwhelmed. A good overwhelmed.

We were engaged for 8 months.

And wedding planning was stressful.

Mostly because I'm a controlling, perfectionist, freak of nature.

But we did have a few happy moments.

Like this one at a friend's wedding.

{A few engagement photos)

{October 4, 2009 | Our wedding day}

Our marriage hasn't been perfect. We've definitely had our share of challenges. Lots of them. Matter of fact, we've recently hit a bump along the marriage path. And those bumps are definitely not fun. But they stretch us. And force us to see our brokenness in light of a hope to come that is so much bigger than our past baggage and relational challenges. But I can say, without a shadow of a doubt, that we love each other deeply. And reliving the memories of how we met, our courtship & engagement reminds me why I love him so much. 

Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. 1 Corinthians 13:4-7

This passage is often used to describe the way we are called to love one another. But you know what...it's not easy to love someone like this. Because when we feel hurt or sad or moody...are we really still patient and kind and humble? I don't know about you but I fail miserably at exhibiting this kind of love consistently. Especially to my husband at times. But I'm truly thankful that God saw fit for me to have a husband to practice this kind of love. When it's easy AND when it's hard. Because this is the kind of love He shows me in spite of my mistakes and shortcomings. 

I'm so looking forward to continuing our journey together.

Thanks for letting me share my love story.