Our Engagement Story!

The moment was a wonderfully unexpected whirlwind, so Ben and I typed this story of our engagement up after he proposed so we would not forget all the amazing details to our story. Enjoy!

Our Engagement August 18, 2012 4:30 pm Atlanta State Park We are in New Boston, TX this weekend spending time with Grandmom and Granddad. Ben and I have been planning our wedding for the past month, but I had no idea when he would propose. Ben and Granddad golfed this morning (Ben won with a score of 89) and I spent time with Grandmom at the house talking and cooking lunch. When Ben and Granddad got home, we ate lunch and everyone laid down for nap time. I had slept really great the night before and used the quiet time to read my Bible and read over old Journal entries dating back to November of 2010. The entries spoke of the heartache of loneliness and disappointment of that season in life that I remembered clearly. As I read through the pages, they introduced Ben, our meeting in Zambia, Africa and how we knew within the first month of dating that God had made us to spend the rest of our lives with each other. I remembered how God and I had worked so hard to change my heart so that He was my first Love and the only One who satisfied my heart. To this day I am conscious to worship the Creator and not the created. While I love Ben more than I knew was possible, He can never fill the place in my heart that belongs to God to satisfy. I’m so thankful for a spiritual leader that encourages me to prioritize my relationship with God before my relationship with him. What an answer to prayer! After this wonderful quiet time, Ben asked if I would like to go for a drive. We love the beauty of the trees and scenery in East Texas. My response was, “Sure, can I go in my sweatpants?” I had no clue! Thankfully, he convinced me to put jeans on instead (I thanked him profusely for this after he had proposed). Grandmom and Granddad were still napping, so we left the house quietly. As we drove, Ben subtly mentioned that he thought there was a nearby lake. I confirmed how much I loved lakes and he said we would go find it. It was a beautiful drive. It’s been stormy all weekend, so there was a nice cloud cover, which in Texas is refreshing after a brutally hot summer. We drove around Wright Patman Lake and Ben told me stories of how he had grown up coming to this lake when he would visit Grandmom and Granddad. We pulled into Atlanta State Park. The park ranger, Jan, came out and when she found out that we had never been to that state park before, she gave us a free entrance pass to drive and look around it. Ben drove us over to Knight’s Bluff which was absolutely breathtaking with tall East Texas pine trees, an amazing lake view and perfect clouds. The air coming off the lake was cool, crisp and felt wonderful. Ben had brought his backpack and paused at the car to get something out of it. He told me he had brought his camera and was getting it out to take pictures of the lake. As we walked down to the lake, Ben put his arm around me and we walked side by side taking in the magnificent beauty ahead of us. We walked around for a bit and sat down on a boat dock to take some pictures of the scenery, including an old dock next to us. Ben asked me if I’d like to take a walk out onto the other dock which went further over the water. At first I hesitated because it looked so old, and possibly unstable, and the lake was very full from recent rainfall which made the choppy waves come up fairly high. After a little conversation, Ben said he’d hold my hand and we’d go together. We walked hand in hand towards the end of the dock and stopped at the end. We looked back at the shore and at how far out onto the water we had walked. Ben said, “Now that wasn’t so bad was it?” My reply was, “It’s fine now that we’re out further than most of the waves.” We stood together holding each other and then Ben reached in his pocket. He pulled out a ring box and asked, “Do you want to see what’s in here?” Immediately my heart started racing and I could not help the enormous smile that would plaster my face for the rest of the day. I enthusiastically declared, “Yes!” He then asked, “Do you want to marry me?” Again, an ecstatic, “Yes!” With a huge smile that matched mine he then said, “Ok well I’m supposed to get down on one knee…” As he knelt to one knee and took my hands, Ben asked me if I would marry him. Again, the only word my shocked brain could exclaim was, “YES!” I leaned down to kiss him and he stood and picked me up while we kissed and celebrated. He asked if I wanted to see my ring and told me there were multiple rings, but that he would explain why. And of course all I could respond with was, “Yes!” Ben waited until we got back to the shore to show me the rings. Before we left the dock, he pointed out the journey we had made together to walk out to that point over the water. He said that we would always walk through life together no matter if the waters were calm or choppy like the ones we had walked over. He said that no matter what goes on around us that it would always be us together. I finished his sentence with, “forever” and he said “yes.” Once we were on land again, we sat back down on the boat dock and he pulled out my rings. The first ring held 5 crystal clear diamonds on a white gold band; this was Ben’s Nanas ring. The second one was his mom’s ring. Ben said that he wanted both sides of his family represented in my ring since he was the only male Gibson in the family to carry on the family name. He let me know that the main diamond in his mom’s ring belonged to his Granddad’s mom on his dad’s side of the family. Ben is going to have the center diamond in Nana’s ring removed so that he can replace it with his great grandmother’s diamond. I love that he has taken such thought and care in designing my engagement ring and I feel honored to wear such a special ring that represents his family, and my future family. As we sat on the boat dock, Ben looked out at the water and said, “Wow, look at those birds.” I teared up and could not believe what I was seeing. Since I was in the 7th grade, God has used a unique type of white birds to fly by in moments where I’ve needed to feel His presence and peace with me. He used these exact birds to fly over the water by us to show us that He was there with us. I will cherish that forever; it means so much to me. Ben told me later that he wanted us to get engaged out in nature where we were secluded and could just share the moment with each other and with God. He did not know that was my dream proposal too, and it could not have been a more beautiful or sweeter proposal. God was there with us, and I’ve felt His smiling and rejoicing over us all day. It blesses my heart to know that we serve a God who so rejoices in His children and blesses them with rich gifts beyond our understanding! We praise God for the many details He has been in throughout our relationship, and especially in our proposal and wedding plans. It began to rain on us so we hurried back to the car. Once in the car, we each prayed over one another thanking God for His tremendous blessings, and dedicating our lives together for His glory. To God be the glory, GREAT things He has done!