Engagement Story

It was a quiet Saturday for me. I went to gym, did laundry, some cleaning..... nothing special. Matt had told me that he had some work to do for his dad but had plans for a date that night. I was instructed to dress causally and comfortably and when he arrived at 7 that night, it couldn't have been more normal. He suggested La Terraza for dinner, a place we'd been to at least a dozen times. I remember thinking that he was extra chatty that evening, or maybe I was more quiet. The meal ended and he suggested heading out to the refugee. The weather was hot and sticky but we always had a good time out there so I agreed. The drive out there was, shall we say, different? He....was going.....so.....slow. I mean like 35 mph on a 55 mph road. Looking back, I was getting a little antsy. About half way to the refugee there Matt turned off the main drive and into a neighbor, explaining to me that he wanted to live here one day. I was thinking, "so this is nice, but not a 20 minute detour nice.... lets go!" We pulled out again onto Oktoc Road, going 35 mph. Finally, we got to the T in the road; left went to a place where I'd never been before, right went to where we always went. He went left. "Matt! What are you doing? You always go right!" "Nikki, its been a long a week. Let me turn around." I was agitated by this point. I knew that he knew which way to go, he seemed a little tense, and he was texting his dad a lot. We'd talked about getting engaged for a while, and he'd told me it wasn't going to be this weekend because he didn't have the ring. But man alive! He was acting WEIRD!! So, I text my mom: Can you please pray? We're on a date, and I want to just be able to enjoy that date. I know we're not getting engaged anytime soon and I just feel frustrated because Matt is acting kinda strange. She lovingly replied "sure babe. love ya"

By this point, we were turned around and heading in the right direction. It was almost dusk and across the lake I could see some lights flickering, which wasn't that surprising because it wasn't uncommon for people to be grilling out at the picnic area. As we pulled closer, I realized that the flickering lights weren't those from a flame of a grill, but this:

I couldn't believe it. "No way...." I said.  He smiled, grabbed my hand, and said " come on...." I was a little shaky as he sat me down. "There's something I've been wanting to ask you for a while now. Do you mind if I read it to you?" I shook my head. He then read me the most beautiful letter. He talked about our first date and the incredible way God had so richly blessed it; he talked about how God had to be at the center of our relationship in order for relationship to work; he explained to me why he picked the ring he did, symbolizing God in the center and us on with side. He finished with: "I've wanted to ask you this since our first date: Nikki, will you marry me?"

I said yes :)

photograph by Erin Fults