our engagement.

It was quite the day.

On December 30th one of my best friends asked me if I wanted to get my nails done the next day for my birthday. For many women, this would be the tell tale sign that I was going to get engaged soon. For me, I just thought we were going out for my birthday.

The next day I picked light pink for my nail color, further solidifying the fact that I did not think it’d happen on my birthday because for my WHOLE LIFE I told myself I’d have a deep burgundy for my nail color when I got engaged. I told my sister, my friends, and even my husband that… But there I was with light pink nails.

I also had lunch with my friends and we got sushi, I pushed the time frame (as always) and was running a bit behind. I had no idea what to wear, so I threw on a random outfit that I hadn’t put much thought into. If you know me well, you would know that I would’ve put eons of time and thought into things if I thought we were going to get engaged that day.

And, then things took a turn…

But by far the most unexpected part of the day was the fact that we got into an accident that totaled Luke’s car on our way to the place where we got engaged.

We had just gone out to eat, went shopping for tons of yarn (he knew I was obsessed with knitting haha), and were on our way to the next destination back home. Everyone on the highway had slowed down, and we had just moved into the right lane with no one else around us.

All of a sudden we were spinning out of control and the only words I could utter were

“oh no”

It was so surreal, but God was watching over us in so many ways. There was no one around us that we hit. We were going under a bridge and we happened to hit on of the railings instead of going to the center median. Once we finished spinning we were facing forward and could pull off. No one else was hurt by what happened.

I can’t imagine where Luke’s mind was once we had pulled off to the side of the road at mile marker 102.6. I knew I had to remain calm, and thankfully we weren’t too far from home. I called Triple A and Luke made some calls as well (which I later found out was to the photographer waiting for us and to my best friend).

My mom ended up coming to pick us up with my best friend, and that’s when I knew something was up. I wasn’t positive since it could’ve been a surprise party, but it seemed weird that she came with my mom. By the time my mom came we had been standing in the half rain half snow weather for a little while as we got the car situated to be towed so my hair was in disarray and my face was bright red.

Getting Engaged

We drove up to Grove City College, where I had attended and where my parents had met and gotten married. He knew that Harbison chapel had always been so special to me. That is when I knew and so many thoughts raced through my brain, one of which was that I needed to focus on what he said so I wouldn’t forget.

We got to the front steps of the chapel and I got so nervous. Luke got down on one knee and said something about how he wanted our journey to start at this place since I wanted to get married there… Annndddd I promptly forgot everything else he said because I was weeping so much. (He said a bunch of nice things about me and said something along the lines of “I want to be that for you”)

What mattered in the end is that I got to say the best “yes” to the absolute love of my life. I had known so quickly after we had started dating that this guy was going to be my husband. Sometimes I hate the cliche of “when you know, you know” but when I felt it with Luke I knew what they meant.

This was the start of people saying to us “this will be such a fun story to tell!” and let me tell you we heard that a bunch more as we planned our COVID wedding. But I truly wouldn’t have changed a moment of it. Seeing how we handled that situation was incredible, but also seeing how God worked through that situation was the best thing ever.

I cannot wait for the day that we get to renew our vows and actually get to see you at the end of the aisle at the chapel. Life would not be the same without this incredibly loving, God fearing, and strong man. I do not deserve him in so many ways, but let me tell you that I am so so thankful that I get to tell this story and that it’s the story about US.