I wanted to share me and Ross' engagement story for our friends and family who have asked. However, I knew that I couldn't just tell how the proposal went down because there's so much more to this story than getting down on one knee with a ring.
I'm going to apologize in advance for the length of this, I honestly don't know how to tell the "short version" of anything. I am going to break this into pieces, so if you are just looking for the meat of this story you can just skip below to "The Best Day."
Otherwise, I'm going to start it from the top.
The First Ring
During my second semester at Auburn I had a revelation. I realized that I would never find my "future husband" by my own efforts. That the only way to discover "the one" that God created for me would be to surrender the dating area of my life and make a commitment to wait. To wait for the man that would love Christ more than he loved me, the man that would lead me with integrity and the man that would show me grace when I needed it most. I was certain that he, the one, my future husband was out there and that when the time was right God would let our paths cross. I didn't know how long the wait would be but I was positive the reward would be worth it.
There is a video on youtube called "I will wait for you" by Official P4CM Poet Janette
Watch it here: https://youtu.be/igCj3jsbcqs
It is what really prompted me to make my decision to wait. Every single thing she said resonated with me and spoke to my heart. I've watched it so many times I can quote it word for word. I've even played it through my speakers in my car numerous times.
On Valentine's Day of 2013 I bought a ring to symbolize this commitment. The ring I picked out had three brands to represent me, Christ and my future husband, and to embody the verse, "A cord of three strands is not quickly broken." Ecclesiastes 4:12.
That night when I got home I prayed, I journaled and I made a promise.
I wrote down these words from the video about my future husband. I spoke them out loud in faith and prayed over them with certainty.
"I will know you because when you speak I will be reminded of Solomon's wisdom. Your ability to lead will remind me of Moses. Your faith will remind me of Abraham. Your confidence in God's word will remind me of Daniel. Your inspiration will remind me of Paul. Your heart for God will remind me of David. Your attention to detail will remind me of Noah. Your integrity will remind me of Joseph and your ability to abandon your own will remind me of the disciples. But your ability to love selflessly and unconditionally will remind me of Christ."
From that night on I continued praying for my future husband and for our one day relationship. I promised I would wear that ring until the day I got engaged.
Our First Date
To my surprise that wait didn't take as long as I had projected and little did I know my future husband had been praying for me too.
On May 4, 2013 Ross and I went on our first date. Hannah (my best friend) met James (Ross' best friend) at Southern Union and introduced me to him. James thought it would be a great idea to set Ross and I up. So despite the freezing cold, rainy weather that May day, Hannah and I drove to Ross' farm to ride four wheelers with him and James.
I won't go into all the details. But I'll never forget how special that day was. I immediately knew Ross was the one and if you know me, you know that I'm hardly ever positive about anything. Decisions are my worst nightmare. But with Ross there was never a question or any speculation.
I remember saying, "like how I know the sky's blue, I know Ross is the one I'm supposed to marry."
SO CHEESY. I KNOW.
However, because I had just made this serious commitment I still kept my guard up and sought wisdom from God to make sure I wasn't just being led by my emotions.
Every day He made it more and more clear that dating Ross was his will and not just mine.
On June 14, 2013 I became Ross' girlfriend.
The Best Day
This past Sunday, November 15, Ross and I woke up and went to church and then headed to his parents house for a "Thanksgiving dinner." I wanted to see Lucy (the horse) so Ross suggested we stop by the farm on the way in rather than on the way out because it would be dark then.
To be completely honest, I had some suspicion all week that he might propose because 1. I knew it would be by the end of the semester and we only have three weeks left and 2. Ross is so bad at lying (thank God). I tried to keep the thought of him out of my head though, and as Sunday got closer I had convinced myself it probably wasn't going to happen.
Then... his mom called while we were on the way and suggested we stop by to check on the horses. By the tone in Ross' voice after he talked to her I could tell something was up. At this point my stomach officially started doing flips.
We got to the farm and Ross asked me to go check his game camera with him in the woods. There was nothing unusual about that except for his persistence. I didn't even get to say hey to Lucy before he made me jump on the four wheeler! We headed up the hill and drove along the fence line for a while (flash back to our first date) and then we stopped. Ross suggested we walk the rest of the way so we got off the four wheeler. When I turned around I saw the first tree with a picture of us on it. (Insert squeals)
We made our way by one tree after another with pictures of us on them and talked about each one. It literally felt like a stroll down memory lane as I glanced as so many moments we've shared together over the last 2 1/2 years.
We then came to the spot where Ross and I have talked about building a house one day.
The sweetest, most serene and special area was set up with a church pew, hay bales, pillows, a quilt and roses. We sat down on the pew and Ross pulled out a laptop so we could watch a slideshow his sweet sister-in-law help put together (thanks Callie!). We watched what felt like a movie of so many memories we've shared together while the song "Die a Happy Man" by Thomas Rhett played.
At this point I was sobbing, shaking and laughing, trying to take in what was happening. Memories and thoughts of that very moment that I had imagined for so long kept rushing into my head. Ross then turned to me and spoke the most kind, genuine words I've ever heard. The one part I remember most is that he said "This is where we had our first date and this is where I want to spend forever with you."
He then got down on one knee while I was still sitting on the pew and told me to close my eyes. As I opened them he asked if I'd marry him! I don't think I couldn't even form words so I'm glad he took my sobbing, head nod as a YES.
We sat there for a moment soaking it all in and enjoying our favorite spot in the woods. It was pure bliss.
I wanted to make sure I had gotten some pictures of the set up before we headed to his parents house so I asked if we could head back down to the barn for me to get my phone.
On the way back down the hill Ross says, "Hey, who is that?" I looked around and didn't see anyone and then I looked down the hill. I've never felt so overwhelmed in my life. It looked like 100 people from up there. We got to the bottom and my whole family, his family and all of our best friends were standing there clapping.
I will never forget that moment for as a long as I live. I never in a million years expected my friends and especially my family to be there. I get teary eyed all over again just thinking about it.
After that we headed up to the barn to celebrate with a incredible spread of food prepared by Ross' mom (of course). We laughed, cried some more and rejoiced with one another.
I would relive that day every single day if I could.
Ross is everything I've ever prayed for and more and I can't wrap my mind around God's faithfulness to me. I don't deserve any of this by any means, but he has truly given me the desires of my heart.
I don't write this story to brag or show off what an AMAZING job Ross did but to simply showcase how AMAZING our God is and how when you trust him and let his will be done he will do immeasurably more than you could ever ask or imagine.
Thank you again to all our friends and family! We can't wait to start this new journey!!!!
I'm going to apologize in advance for the length of this, I honestly don't know how to tell the "short version" of anything. I am going to break this into pieces, so if you are just looking for the meat of this story you can just skip below to "The Best Day."
Otherwise, I'm going to start it from the top.
The First Ring
During my second semester at Auburn I had a revelation. I realized that I would never find my "future husband" by my own efforts. That the only way to discover "the one" that God created for me would be to surrender the dating area of my life and make a commitment to wait. To wait for the man that would love Christ more than he loved me, the man that would lead me with integrity and the man that would show me grace when I needed it most. I was certain that he, the one, my future husband was out there and that when the time was right God would let our paths cross. I didn't know how long the wait would be but I was positive the reward would be worth it.
There is a video on youtube called "I will wait for you" by Official P4CM Poet Janette
Watch it here: https://youtu.be/igCj3jsbcqs
It is what really prompted me to make my decision to wait. Every single thing she said resonated with me and spoke to my heart. I've watched it so many times I can quote it word for word. I've even played it through my speakers in my car numerous times.
On Valentine's Day of 2013 I bought a ring to symbolize this commitment. The ring I picked out had three brands to represent me, Christ and my future husband, and to embody the verse, "A cord of three strands is not quickly broken." Ecclesiastes 4:12.
That night when I got home I prayed, I journaled and I made a promise.
I wrote down these words from the video about my future husband. I spoke them out loud in faith and prayed over them with certainty.
"I will know you because when you speak I will be reminded of Solomon's wisdom. Your ability to lead will remind me of Moses. Your faith will remind me of Abraham. Your confidence in God's word will remind me of Daniel. Your inspiration will remind me of Paul. Your heart for God will remind me of David. Your attention to detail will remind me of Noah. Your integrity will remind me of Joseph and your ability to abandon your own will remind me of the disciples. But your ability to love selflessly and unconditionally will remind me of Christ."
From that night on I continued praying for my future husband and for our one day relationship. I promised I would wear that ring until the day I got engaged.
Our First Date
To my surprise that wait didn't take as long as I had projected and little did I know my future husband had been praying for me too.
On May 4, 2013 Ross and I went on our first date. Hannah (my best friend) met James (Ross' best friend) at Southern Union and introduced me to him. James thought it would be a great idea to set Ross and I up. So despite the freezing cold, rainy weather that May day, Hannah and I drove to Ross' farm to ride four wheelers with him and James.
I won't go into all the details. But I'll never forget how special that day was. I immediately knew Ross was the one and if you know me, you know that I'm hardly ever positive about anything. Decisions are my worst nightmare. But with Ross there was never a question or any speculation.
I remember saying, "like how I know the sky's blue, I know Ross is the one I'm supposed to marry."
SO CHEESY. I KNOW.
However, because I had just made this serious commitment I still kept my guard up and sought wisdom from God to make sure I wasn't just being led by my emotions.
Every day He made it more and more clear that dating Ross was his will and not just mine.
On June 14, 2013 I became Ross' girlfriend.
The Best Day
This past Sunday, November 15, Ross and I woke up and went to church and then headed to his parents house for a "Thanksgiving dinner." I wanted to see Lucy (the horse) so Ross suggested we stop by the farm on the way in rather than on the way out because it would be dark then.
To be completely honest, I had some suspicion all week that he might propose because 1. I knew it would be by the end of the semester and we only have three weeks left and 2. Ross is so bad at lying (thank God). I tried to keep the thought of him out of my head though, and as Sunday got closer I had convinced myself it probably wasn't going to happen.
Then... his mom called while we were on the way and suggested we stop by to check on the horses. By the tone in Ross' voice after he talked to her I could tell something was up. At this point my stomach officially started doing flips.
We got to the farm and Ross asked me to go check his game camera with him in the woods. There was nothing unusual about that except for his persistence. I didn't even get to say hey to Lucy before he made me jump on the four wheeler! We headed up the hill and drove along the fence line for a while (flash back to our first date) and then we stopped. Ross suggested we walk the rest of the way so we got off the four wheeler. When I turned around I saw the first tree with a picture of us on it. (Insert squeals)
We made our way by one tree after another with pictures of us on them and talked about each one. It literally felt like a stroll down memory lane as I glanced as so many moments we've shared together over the last 2 1/2 years.
We then came to the spot where Ross and I have talked about building a house one day.
The sweetest, most serene and special area was set up with a church pew, hay bales, pillows, a quilt and roses. We sat down on the pew and Ross pulled out a laptop so we could watch a slideshow his sweet sister-in-law help put together (thanks Callie!). We watched what felt like a movie of so many memories we've shared together while the song "Die a Happy Man" by Thomas Rhett played.
At this point I was sobbing, shaking and laughing, trying to take in what was happening. Memories and thoughts of that very moment that I had imagined for so long kept rushing into my head. Ross then turned to me and spoke the most kind, genuine words I've ever heard. The one part I remember most is that he said "This is where we had our first date and this is where I want to spend forever with you."
He then got down on one knee while I was still sitting on the pew and told me to close my eyes. As I opened them he asked if I'd marry him! I don't think I couldn't even form words so I'm glad he took my sobbing, head nod as a YES.
We sat there for a moment soaking it all in and enjoying our favorite spot in the woods. It was pure bliss.
I wanted to make sure I had gotten some pictures of the set up before we headed to his parents house so I asked if we could head back down to the barn for me to get my phone.
On the way back down the hill Ross says, "Hey, who is that?" I looked around and didn't see anyone and then I looked down the hill. I've never felt so overwhelmed in my life. It looked like 100 people from up there. We got to the bottom and my whole family, his family and all of our best friends were standing there clapping.
I will never forget that moment for as a long as I live. I never in a million years expected my friends and especially my family to be there. I get teary eyed all over again just thinking about it.
After that we headed up to the barn to celebrate with a incredible spread of food prepared by Ross' mom (of course). We laughed, cried some more and rejoiced with one another.
I would relive that day every single day if I could.
Ross is everything I've ever prayed for and more and I can't wrap my mind around God's faithfulness to me. I don't deserve any of this by any means, but he has truly given me the desires of my heart.
I don't write this story to brag or show off what an AMAZING job Ross did but to simply showcase how AMAZING our God is and how when you trust him and let his will be done he will do immeasurably more than you could ever ask or imagine.
Thank you again to all our friends and family! We can't wait to start this new journey!!!!