The "L" Word (Part 2)

In the last four years, I have been to 17 weddings (and missed six). I have been a bridesmaid, a hostess, the guestbook girl, the gift-table-girl, the cake server. I have taken pictures, helped with makeup, fixed hair, and -- ew -- helped the bride use the restroom. Through the magic of Storm, I've even helped cook rehearsal and reception meals. I have bought enough gifts, cards, and tissue paper to keep Target going for a month.

I like weddings. Not quite on the level of "27 Dresses" (which I just watched and identified with in some horrifying ways), but I have a lot of fun at them.

As much as I like weddings, I absolutely love the "How We Met" and "How We Got Engaged" stories. In addition to my parents' story (which is admittedly my favorite), there are two more couples whose stories I'd like to tell you.

Megan & Jim

Megan and Jim are friends that I babysat for quite a bit my last year in Rapid City. They're about four years older than me, have been married for almost six years, and have four gorgeous children under five. (Yeah, that sounds a little crazy to me, too.)

The best way for you to hear this story is in her exact words. She was wonderful enough to email me the story, so without further ado:

"jim and i met our sophomore year at college through iv. we barely knew each other in november of that year, when we were all standing in a circle in a kitchen at a party, and jim led everyone in an oreo game- to unscrew an oreo, stick it to their forehead and see if you can get it into your mouth without using your hands. the moment jim stuck the oreo to his forehead, the Holy Spirit clearly told me i was going to marry him. (i barely knew him at this point, and didn't have any romantic feelings for him at all.) as the months went by, God made it clear to me that He was serious, and i didn't tell anyone, but knew somehow it would happen someday and left it alone(still not romantically interested in jim at all). we went to urbana together that year, then started a prayer group together the next semester. that's when we got to know each other really well and became very good friends, but still didn't have romantic feelings for one another (and jim knew nothing about the oreo incident). this was all a little unbelievable to me and i kept it on a back burner in my mind, and went on with my life. the Lord did quietly persist, though, that i would marry jim. in march of that year, the Lord made it clear to me that i should tell jim about what He'd told me. i really, really didn't want to, but knew for certain it's what i was supposed to do. i told God i would, if jim came to see my in my room that day. meanwhile, jim had been trying to get work done all day and couldn't concentrate [because] he felt so strongly that he needed to come see me. he resisted it until about 4:00, then finally gave in and went up to my room. when he got there i knew i needed to tell him, so after hesitating a bit, i did. he says i blurted out something like, "i don't even like you, but God told me i'm going to marry you." up to this point, he had heard no such message from God, but [because] he felt so certain there was a reason he was supposed to go to my room, he knew for sure this was for real. we talked a bit, made it clear to one another that neither of us had feelings beyond friendship and that we didn't want to start a relationship right now, and that we'd just remain good friends and see how God would eventually lead us to something else. there was an overwhelming sense of peace and "rightness" to it all for both of us. we continued being good friends the remainder of the year. that summer we were apart for four months and never talked, outside of a couple of iv servant team things we had to do. over those four months, we both fell totally in love with one another and couldn't wait to get together when school started. we became an official couple on september 5, got engaged november 28, and got married june 8 the next summer, which was almost six years ago."

Addendum: They got engaged in a church parking lot right after a blizzard, surrounded by two feet of snow. Jim had been holding on to the ring, waiting for the right moment, and he says that he knew it was the right day because he woke up incredibly nervous.

Whether or not they were always aware of it, the fact that they just Knew gave me real hope. You see, this is a couple I got to watch in a lot of ways -- helping out college students, with their kids, with each other, serving up food, goofing off at IV events -- and there was something different about them. They are, among other things, incredibly comfortable with each other, but they have no need to prove to anyone that they are madly in love with each other.