For His anger is but for a moment,
His favor is for life;
Weeping may endure for a night,
But joy comes in the morning.
- Psalm 30:5
It has been over a week since I have officially gone from being a girlfriend to a fiancée... and yet I still find myself still absorbing the fact and floating on Cloud 9! But that's not even the best part...
The most ironic thing about this is that we knew all along that this day would come. We met a year ago in August and started courting six months ago in March. To the world, this may be "fast," but if it's on God's terms, then it's PERFECT. We entered into our relationship clear on our intentions and purpose, and with intense prayer. Our primary confidant for the relationship was God, and slowly, with time, our parents, spiritual parents, pastors, and accountability partners became sources of guidance throughout our relationship. Also, in my singleness with God, He allowed me to become aware and confident of my identity in Christ. I knew that publicly sharing our relationship too early would influence me in artificial ways, pressuring me to do things that may be unaligned with what God had already planned for me. Looking back in retrospect, it was a wise decision on our part.
Anyway, back to the best part... Obviously, I HAD to have known that during a successful six months of courtship, marriage was just around the corner. I always [unintentionally] had it in the back of my mind every time he planned a trip for us. I asked God to help me to stop thinking about it because I really wanted to be surprised, but of course, it's just normal for a woman to have an intense desire for such a thing. And here's the best part... We serve a God who is so faithful to His word, keeps His promises, and KNOWS our hearts, inside and out. So regardless of how much my heart was expecting, He gave me the most PERFECT proposal any girl could ever ask for...
An was aware of my expectations, so he was always one step AHEAD (which I believe is by the grace of God, because honestly, I really didn't think he had it in him! Haha!). He carefully planned to "NOT plan." In fact, I think he even tested my patience and stirred up a fight on purpose! He knew that in just a few hours, I would be looking back and laughing. In fact, I realized he knew me much, much more than I expected him to know me... in the end, I think that's what made me fall in love with him all over again. Oh, and it doesn't stop there... a couple mornings later, I woke up to a video on my computer of a makeshift documentary of the proposal. And yes, I cried many happy tears (again). You can indulge yourself as well with the link provided below. This just goes to show how truly abundant our god is!
We stand here today praising God for helping and leading us through our times of singleness AND courtship (note, I mentioned BOTH, because there is no such thing as a successful courtship without a successful singleness with God), for giving us patience, and teaching us obedience. We know that because we committed to placing God at the top of our lives, allowing Him to call the shots, direct our moves, and convict us for our sins, we are now experiencing this overwhelming joy. I know that one of An's favorite things to claim is God's FAVOR. He's so confident in the love God has for him, that whatever storm the enemy may try to stir up, he is always ready to stand confidently in His favor.
We declare that we would never trade our God for the world. Would you?
Love it!
ReplyDeleteAnd I really like how you said, "there is no such thing as a successful courtship without a successful singleness with God."
Praise the Lord. This is a good story!