Throughout the time that Jared and I dated, we were both pretty open and clear
about the fact that we were not just dating for fun--this was purposeful dating,
and the purpose was, hopefully, if it was God's will, eventual marriage. We
assumed, however, that this would take place after we graduated, as that seems
to be the expected timing of relationships in the US. At the beginning of
Christmas break, however, through a lot of different things bringing it to our
attention, we both started considering the possibility of marrying while still
in college. This was during the first week of Christmas break, and I was home
in Clemson while he was home in Clover. We had several phone and skype
conversations discussing different possibilities, and we both took that week to
really think and pray through the possibility individually. During this week of
prayer, I felt that God placed on my mind and heart that Jared and I would be
getting married this summer. Wait...what?! This summer? That's in like, 6
months! I was sure I was crazy. At this point. Jared was only thinking about
maybe the next summer (summer of 2013), and even with that he was still
hesitant. I tend to be a bit unrealistic at times, but thankfully I have fiance
who is very practical and can see situations very clearly and rationally. So
when this thought crossed my mind, I began praying through it, wondering if it
was me trying to push for this, or if it was really God giving me this idea and
desire. So after spending some time in prayer over it, I decided to simply
surrender it to God, trusting that His will would be done. I said, "God, I am
not going to say anything about this to Jared. If this is your will for our
lives, then please let him come to me and tell me that he wants to get married
this summer." I knew, however, that he wouldn't do this. An idea like that
would usually only come from my crazy head (unless, however, God was involved).
So, I laid it to rest.
The next week, Jared
came to visit me. We spent that week talking through possibilities, and talking
to my parents. One night, as we were talking, Jared looked at me, and to my
disbelief, these words came out of his mouth, "So, why don't we get married this
summer?" ... What? Did he really say that? I was astounded to say the least.
So we began to talk about this possibility, and the many opportunities that
would go along with that.
Then ensued an
extremely hard yet fruitful rest of the break, which mostly consisted of prayer.
We sought the cousel of many different people, looking for different
perspectives on the subject, seeking marriage advice, but ultimately being true
to the calling that God had placed on our lives. It was a long and hard
process. But through extended times of prayer and time spent in the Word, Jared
and I both individually received an enourmous amount of peace and assurance
concerning our upcoming marriage, despite every difficulty we know will
accompany it. We see that God is working in us, and that He is calling us.
When God calls, we must listen. And that is what we have tried to do. We are
keeping our ears open to God's call, and our eyes open to His work. We trust
that he is our perfect guide--we may not know the way to go, but we know our
guide. And He will never leave us nor forsake us. Because of that, we can walk
in obedience, trusting Him to be our guide.
So on January 2nd, during the last week before
returning to school, came the moment of truth. I was at the Poulton's house in
Clover, and Jared and I were sitting at the kitchen table talking. Before I
knew it, Jared had gotten up, gone to the closet, and pulled out a towel and
basin. He filled the basin with water, grabbed some soap, and took me into the
living room. I sat on the couch, and he proceeded to get down on the floor, and
to wash my feet. I sat there astounded, not really believing it was real. When
he had finished, he stood me up, got down on one knee, and asked me to marry
him. And, go figure, I said yes! I am so blessed to have a man who is willing
to humble himself, and to serve me, doing his best to love me the way that
Christ loves His church. Not only have I learned countless things through our
relationship about marriage (which I will most likely share in a later post),
but I also have learned so much about God's love for us. The way that God
intensely desires to be with us. The way that He was willing to humble Himself
in order to serve us. And the way that everything He does, He does for our best
interest. He will never lead us astray. And we can rest in that.
about the fact that we were not just dating for fun--this was purposeful dating,
and the purpose was, hopefully, if it was God's will, eventual marriage. We
assumed, however, that this would take place after we graduated, as that seems
to be the expected timing of relationships in the US. At the beginning of
Christmas break, however, through a lot of different things bringing it to our
attention, we both started considering the possibility of marrying while still
in college. This was during the first week of Christmas break, and I was home
in Clemson while he was home in Clover. We had several phone and skype
conversations discussing different possibilities, and we both took that week to
really think and pray through the possibility individually. During this week of
prayer, I felt that God placed on my mind and heart that Jared and I would be
getting married this summer. Wait...what?! This summer? That's in like, 6
months! I was sure I was crazy. At this point. Jared was only thinking about
maybe the next summer (summer of 2013), and even with that he was still
hesitant. I tend to be a bit unrealistic at times, but thankfully I have fiance
who is very practical and can see situations very clearly and rationally. So
when this thought crossed my mind, I began praying through it, wondering if it
was me trying to push for this, or if it was really God giving me this idea and
desire. So after spending some time in prayer over it, I decided to simply
surrender it to God, trusting that His will would be done. I said, "God, I am
not going to say anything about this to Jared. If this is your will for our
lives, then please let him come to me and tell me that he wants to get married
this summer." I knew, however, that he wouldn't do this. An idea like that
would usually only come from my crazy head (unless, however, God was involved).
So, I laid it to rest.
The next week, Jared
came to visit me. We spent that week talking through possibilities, and talking
to my parents. One night, as we were talking, Jared looked at me, and to my
disbelief, these words came out of his mouth, "So, why don't we get married this
summer?" ... What? Did he really say that? I was astounded to say the least.
So we began to talk about this possibility, and the many opportunities that
would go along with that.
Then ensued an
extremely hard yet fruitful rest of the break, which mostly consisted of prayer.
We sought the cousel of many different people, looking for different
perspectives on the subject, seeking marriage advice, but ultimately being true
to the calling that God had placed on our lives. It was a long and hard
process. But through extended times of prayer and time spent in the Word, Jared
and I both individually received an enourmous amount of peace and assurance
concerning our upcoming marriage, despite every difficulty we know will
accompany it. We see that God is working in us, and that He is calling us.
When God calls, we must listen. And that is what we have tried to do. We are
keeping our ears open to God's call, and our eyes open to His work. We trust
that he is our perfect guide--we may not know the way to go, but we know our
guide. And He will never leave us nor forsake us. Because of that, we can walk
in obedience, trusting Him to be our guide.
So on January 2nd, during the last week before
returning to school, came the moment of truth. I was at the Poulton's house in
Clover, and Jared and I were sitting at the kitchen table talking. Before I
knew it, Jared had gotten up, gone to the closet, and pulled out a towel and
basin. He filled the basin with water, grabbed some soap, and took me into the
living room. I sat on the couch, and he proceeded to get down on the floor, and
to wash my feet. I sat there astounded, not really believing it was real. When
he had finished, he stood me up, got down on one knee, and asked me to marry
him. And, go figure, I said yes! I am so blessed to have a man who is willing
to humble himself, and to serve me, doing his best to love me the way that
Christ loves His church. Not only have I learned countless things through our
relationship about marriage (which I will most likely share in a later post),
but I also have learned so much about God's love for us. The way that God
intensely desires to be with us. The way that He was willing to humble Himself
in order to serve us. And the way that everything He does, He does for our best
interest. He will never lead us astray. And we can rest in that.
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