The Story According to David

I had seen her a few times before, sitting over there across the room from me at an in-home Bible Study for young adults we both attended. We hadn’t met before, but we did end up talking in the same group a few times. After some prodding from my friend Brandon, I realized it might be worth getting to know this girl. He sent me an unsolicited screenshot of her Facebook profile and it turns out some of her favorite activities included “running, art museums, and watching sports” (not to mention she was pretty cute). Ok, this could work.

Andrea's Facebook profile as sent & highlighted by Brandon.

Luckily we had both signed up for a weekend mission trip to D.C. It was an eight hour drive up there, so I knew if I could somehow score a seat next to her on the van, there would be some ample getting-to-know-you opportunities. As luck would have, we both got on the van at the same time and I asked if the seat next to her was taken. One of her good friends sat with us too and we spent a good portion of the drive talking about the usual stuff like where we went to school, where we worked, etc.

Over the weekend I was able to see her serve in many different ways at the new church we were helping and that helped to solidify in my mind that she just might be a keeper.

After a month and a half of coffee & dinner dates, chats lasting until 2:00am, realizing I could keep up with her pace while running, & many confirmations from friends & family, I decided it was time we made this thing “official” (whatever that means). We scheduled dinner & a movie at her place that night. After setting the oven on fire & surviving a not-too-exciting World War II movie (what, you were expecting chick flick?) we headed out to her balcony with some ice cream in tow. Despite my best attempts to rehearse an incredibly romantic recap of the past two months, my nerves took over and I completely forgot the whole thing. Still, I somehow managed to tell her how I felt about her and it turns out the feeling was mutual! Phew!

It didn’t take me long to realize I wanted to spend the rest of my life with Andrea. I couldn’t believe that God had brought this amazing woman into my life. Fast forward six months to a chilly December Friday one week before her birthday. Her parents would be in town then, so I told her I wanted to take her out to eat so we could celebrate with just the two of us. I started texting her that morning, subtly asking if she wanted to go on a picnic. Despite the temperature clocking in at 45 degrees, I knew she’d say yes since she likes random activities like picnics in 45 degree weather. We went to a lake just outside of town, and I pulled a present out of the car along with the picnic food. Once I setup the blanket with my shaky hands (that I blamed on the cold) we sat down and I asked if she wanted to open her present first or eat instead. Thankfully she chose “present” and unwrapped the gift I had made for her. The gift led to me taking a ring out of my pocket, telling Andrea I loved her, and most importantly, that I wanted to marry her. After asking if she’d like to do the same, she said, “Yes!” through her teary eyes. WOO!

The Story According to Andrea

I first met Dave in Bible study. We talked off and on in small groups, and I began to notice him more often. However, when his birthday came around, and I found out he was younger than I was, well, that was one of my “deal breakers”.

A few months later, and at a horribly early hour, I was crawling into a 15 passenger van to head to D.C. for the weekend when Dave asked if the seat next to me was taken. “No,” I replied. I now had to be sociable before the morning’s coffee! That was going to be interesting. Dave and I began chatting, and it quickly became clear that we had a lot in common, not to mention family connections that I had no clue about. I definitely watched Dave as he served the body of Christ that weekend, and the Lord started to work. Right after getting back, we began long evenings of chatting online or on the phone. We started going out for coffee, began running together, and just hanging out. The evening we began dating, I set the oven on fire, a fun start! More than that though, after much prayer and assurance from friends and family, I knew the Lord was doing something greater than ever imagined.

Over the next few months Dave and I spent countless hours together, and I knew he was the one! When people found out Dave and I were headed to Nova Scotia for Christmas, they kept asking me if we were going to get engaged. I said that I would be totally surprised. December came along, and Dave mentioned that he wanted to take me out to supper for my birthday. We were going out a week early because my family was going to be in town visiting.

Friday morning the text arrived, a question so random that the thought of what was up crossed my mind, but I quickly put it aside for various reasons, the greatest of which was that we love to do random things. A cold weather picnic in December was definitely random and sacrificial on Dave’s part. In addition, the wording of his texts was carefully crafted seeming to put all the burden of choice on me. We rushed to pack a picnic and headed out. When we arrived, Dave pulled out a birthday present and asked if I would rather eat or open the present. "Present." Duh! The gift he had created lead to the proposal, and I said “YES”! After talking for a bit and taking some pictures, he revealed that he had dinner plans downtown. No peanut butter and honey sandwiches and root beer after all. We had a special time at supper and then spent a few hours calling close friends and family. And now the rest begins . . .