"For marriage, as simply as it can be defined, is the contemplation of the love of God in and through the form of another human being." (Mike Mason)
It seems that December really is magical. I have thought so all my life but this past year has only confirmed the magical nature of the Christmas season (then again, maybe it's all the hallmark movies I've watched). With the celebration of dating daniel for a year and his finishing his design program in Atlanta, I started looking forward to him being back in Jackson for good. He had other plans in mind.
We celebrated a year of dating and christmas without an engagement of which I hoped for each night. Daniel loved the "power" he had in keeping everything secret knowing I was excited for the moment. I left Jackson headed home for Christmas with my family and Danno stayed behind for Christmas with his. He was to come to Senatobia on Dec 27th to visit my family before going to Nashville.
Well... at this point things get a little hazy. (You could use the words lies or deceit or you could use the words..."tricked me" which sound much better.) I was "tricked" by my mother to get dressed up for a picture with my family on the 26th. Daniel did his best to ignore me all day so as not to spoil the surprise of his visit. I got ready as planned for the picture and my mother and I headed into town to meet my brother. At that point my mother got a phone call from the "photographer" to say that he left his camera bag in the chapel at our church on Sunday. We were to stop and get it to take to him at his studio for the picture. All the while, Daniel was on his way to Senatobia. When we got to the church, my mother told me to run to the chapel to get the camera bag while she grabbed something out another office. I headed to the chapel not thinking too much of the assignment. As approached the chapel, I could tell there was a dim light coming from the chapel. My heart started pounding wondering if this could be the moment I had dreamed of... I looked further down the hall and noticed rose petals lining the hall. I turned the corner into the chapel and there he was, standing at the end of the aisle in the chapel of my church. He had lined the aisle with rose petals, the windows with candles, and at the end of the aisle he stood next to a table filled with candles, flowers, and two hand-made frames with 1 Corinthians 13:4-5 printed inside of them. Tears filled my eyes and I knew I had not come for a camera bag... I walked to him, a little unprepared for the moment. He hugged me and began his speech. I kept interrupting the speech by hugging him. He did finish, one knee and all, and I, of course, said YES!
The rest... well, the rest is history! We're engaged and we're getting married and "I have found the one my heart loves!"
