Letters by The River

We met under bizarre circumstances this past February. He was traveling through town and stopped to visit his brother who just happened to be married to my boss at the time. We giggled together and ran through the rows in Ikea. However, I was in a delicate time in my life due to an avalanche of changes. I couldn't simply give my heart to this man who just put the wind in my sails. I wanted to keep in touch with patience and understanding, so we wrote. We wrote letters long distance to each other to learn about each others past and our desires for the future.

Since then our happy worlds have been molded together under extraordinary God intervention, and now we live down the street from each other and interact almost every day. But the hand written letters have continued, the letters addressed to me in my full and proper name.

This past Friday began like all of the wonderful Fridays before it. At lunchtime, texts are exchanged regarding our date night plans. He pulled up our list of must eat places in Atlanta, and picks one that is the closest to our hearts and our homes, Ray's on the River.

Fully dressed in our finery we take the steps down to the river behind the restaurant and meander to a bench. He pulls out a highlighter and lots of letters. All of the letters that he has written me, all the way back to the beginning. He asks me to highlight the first word of the first paragraph and the second word of the second paragraph in each letter. I begin highlighting and highlighting, each time scribbling down each discovered word to form the beautiful secret message that has been waiting to be discovered for months.

The last word gets highlighted and the message is complete and I feel my emotions tipping over. He stands up only to bend back down on one knee. I understand what is happening and I just want time to stand still. We are going to be together forever is the only thought running through my head as he places the ring on my finger and I say yes. I hear people clapping who just witnessed our love.

This is our story. Well... just the beginning of it.

Click here to see our amazing engagement photos!