A blooper photo that I adore- haha! In front of the Angel Oak
August 2014
Now we fast forward to April 11, 2014 (roughly 8 months later)- We spent spring break in Kiawah Island with friends of ours and fell in love with the island. I know the Lord affirms how much I adore islands- I am an island gal. Sadly, we had to leave on Friday, back to "reality" and Allen had mentioned he had a surprise before we left. First, we went to the beach that morning to take a last glimpse of what had been "our home" for the week then off we went to a 'surprise' Allen set up.
We saw signs for the Angel Oak and just my luck we were going to swing by there before our trip home. We arrived to the tree before the gates opened at 9am- so we sat in the car, laughed at all the memories from the week then Allen proceeds to mention my surprise is inside the gates of the Angel Oak. I kept asking him, "Aw, did you set up a breakfast for us inside?" Little did I know that my surprise was much bigger than a cup of coffee! We went inside as the gates were opening, then admired this lovely tree while we took snapshots. Allen set up his tripod, before people started coming in, but folks started multiply. As we stood there, waiting to get a photo with his camera timer set, Allen read the verses from Eph 3:14-19 (the verse is written above).
"And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge--that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God."
What a beautiful correlation the verse above symbolizes, Christ's love while standing at the base of this Oak. Being rooted and established in Christ's love helps us grasp a fraction of truly how wide,long, high, and deep HIS love is for us. Being blown away at this verse that morning- I felt small and LOVED by a Savior who gave His all for me so I could know Him intimately. Allen then mentions how he wants our relationship to continue to be rooted in Christ daily and to be rooted deeper. His desire is for us to grow together like this tree's roots and branches intertwining- to grow old and beautiful together. My heart in that moment was so full; before me the sights of God's lovely creation and the man in front of me, Allen to see the importance of God and us.
After that moment, Allen decided it was time for a "better" picture of us in front of the Angel Oak. He pressed the "timer" then ran next to me *big smiles*, but after all the running... the timer didn't wasn't working. After questioning him about the camera, he said, "Oh, it's okay I will get it in a bit." He had actually pressed record, and I was clueless. We chatted a minute until the crowd fades, and remains an older couple. Allen stated that this couple was going to see something remarkable. Of course, my head tilts, wondering what he is about to do---*with Allen, you never know adventure lies ahead*
He said, "I have a question for you?" I nod my head and Allen said, "I would like to ask for your hand in marriage. A couple of words flew from my mouth was, "SHUT UP" hahaha (no joke)! Then he said,"*Marry me?" with a chuckle on his face (*There is a TV show we watched "Arrested Development" and one of the actress named Maybe, In the show she commonly said, 'marry me' as a cunning remark back to people.) The plot thickens, he got on his knee, pull out a garnet box and said my full name," E.T.S, I humbly submit myself to the Lord and would love having the honor of you being my wife." Meanwhile, he had pollen in his eyes so they were a bit watery *haha, I had to throw that in there* Next thing you know, I am already in tears, yes I cried a lot! I couldn't see the ring because of my tears. Finally 11 seconds later, I said, "Of course, YES!" We hug, kiss, and finally I saw the ring that he had diligently made for me. A precious, fine gem he had cut precisely, a halo around the diamond for his angel (me) to propose in front of the *Angel* Oak tree, and the infinity twist to represent the intertwining of us (the roots) into God's firm ground of His love!
*There are more details to the story but for the sake of our eyes, I kept it as short as i could* :)
My proposal is a beautiful story that was just made for me,and to sum up the story is a verse that has been so dear to my heart for the past two years--
"Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us". Ephesians 3:20
How perfect were the verses Allen read to me Eph 3:14-19 , for the proposal and my special verse Eph 3:20- it ended up having impactful meaning; the verse that the Lord promised to me. He had immeasurably more than what I "could" possibly plan for my life. The Lord led Allen and I together again, and here we are-- engaged and going to be married next year.
The Lord has something immeasurably beautiful for you, trust in Him and He will reveal in His timing. His plans for your life is good, and if you cannot see it now, TRUST and wait because the end result will be more beautiful than you could ever fathom- just like this story of mine, our love story. The cool thing is, it isn't "The End" it is "to be continued" because God isn't through with us- may our lives bring GLORY to Him daily. We belong to Him, we are rooted so deeply that no man could uproot us from this deep love we have tasted and we pray that YOU will experience HIS love.
|
No comments:
Post a Comment