Our Love Story

If you’ve been following along on this blog for a while, darling reader, you know that I’m pretty open about my life and my marriage. It occurred to me that some of you might not know how Ryan and I met and fell in love. It’s my wonderful husband’s Birthday today, so I thought I’d feature him by sharing our beginnings.

Sometimes love grows quietly and slowly from the bond of friendship or from years of knowing another person. But that definitely wasn’t our us…

Our love story looked more like love at first sight (well, almost) and it was a whirlwind of a romance!

We met in July of 2014 on my Birthday. I was going to be guest worship leading at a local church and needed a worship band to help out. A coworker graciously offered his band. That’s where darling husband came in the scene: he was the electric guitarist in the band.

After we met, he knew pretty much right away that I was the girl for him. It wasn’t long before he started pursing me.

Nothing is more attractive than a man who purposefully, steadily, and respectfully pursues you.

He made it known to the other guys in the band that he was interested and they all sort of played wing man after that… They even took him shopping for a new outfit for the church service that next week so that he would look somewhat stylish! Too cute.

Shortly after leading worship together he asked me out- He took my on my first motorcycle ride and then out to coffee.

Let’s just say that date was a bit of a laughable nightmare!

I had no idea what to wear on a motorcycle ride so based on some advice I wore this terribly dorky tennis shoe-outfit combo. I’m embarrassed even thinking about it. My hair was a mess from the helmet and my makeup got smeared everywhere by tears from the wind. I ran to the bathroom at the coffee shop to tidy up but it was hopeless.  We seemed to have nothing in common other than our Faith in Christ: opposite tastes in music, hobbies, etc. I’m high maintenance and interested in the arts and fashion, he’s a country boy through and through. Even the goodbye hug was cringe worthy (I lost my balance and almost knocked him over). It’s a miracle he asked me out again.

Despite all of that, something about him intrigued me.

The dates that followed went decidedly better and we got along quite well. It just felt natural, not forced. He continued to quietly pursue me and I was falling hard for him. The relationship quickly became serious.

At one point I realized just how serious things were becoming and I felt like I was at a crossroads. I had been thinking about heading back to the mission field in Africa on a more permanent basis. I knew that this was not the life direction Ryan felt called to and so really it was a choice between him or the mission field. He was devastated when I told him that I was wrestling through this, because he had already been sure that I was the girl he wanted to marry. I took some time to step back and really think and pray through it. In the end, the Lord gave me peace in my decision to stay in the states and continue in a relationship with Ryan.

Even thought it hurt, it was something I needed to do to fully give my heart to him and embrace our future together.

After about 8 months of dating, Ryan brought me back to the church where our love story began. He got down on one knee and proposed, I’m sure with a beautiful speech but I hardly remember any of it because I was so surprised and overcome with emotion!

Though our 8 month engagement was one of joyful anticipation, there were also some struggles.

There’s a tension in being engaged to be married- mentally, emotionally, and physically, you’re preparing for a life as one, but you’re not there yet.

I think it was hard for us to navigate that. Plus we were still really getting to know each other. We were also sprucing up his Bachelor pad of a house and remodeling the kitchen to be ready for me to move in once we married- house reno’s are never easy, especially in the midst of planning a wedding!

On December 19, 2015 we got married.

Our wedding day was the best day of my life. We couldn’t have asked for a more wonderful wedding. Maybe some day I’ll share a throwback post with a recap of our wedding because I still love sitting down and looking through photos of our day and reliving it.

It’s been two and a half years of bliss.

Truly. Yes, it’s also hard work. There’s been some heartache as well as much joy.

Reflecting back on our love story, It’s amazing how God brought us together. Complete strangers one day and suddenly we met and our lives changed forever. I’m reminded of how the Lord’s timing is always perfect. His plans are always good- even if it’s hard to understand in the midst of a season of waiting.

Read more on the thing that could have stolen the peace in our first year of marriage and The little note that shaped my marriage

#family #marriage