In His Arms-One Step At A Time: Our Engagement

Thomas Paine entered my life in 2010. He was 21 and I was 16. I noticed him and was impressed right away. From that point on I have had this crush that wouldn't go away. ;) However, I quickly ruled him out as a possibility, knowing I had a lot of spiritual maturing to do before he would ever be interested.

It was a few years later till I worked up the nerve to talk to him, but once I did, I couldn't really stop. I fell in love with his heart for investing in young men and his passion for Christ. As we began a friendship, I was completely impressed by his self-controlled way of interacting with girls. (I guess you could say, he was the opposite of a flirt, whatever that is.) ;) He was the first person I had ever met who wholeheartedly stuck to his beliefs and convictions of what was right and wrong, and always had the bigger perspective throughout tough circumstances.

The more I got to know him, the more I realized he was everything I wasn't..and I loved that. Our personalities are polar opposites, however, we are similar in our introverted ways, our love for music, our sports addictions, our Christ pursuit, (and my personal favorite,) our strange sense of humor.

In November of 2012, Thomas asked my Dad if he could pursue a relationship with me, (at which time I had no idea he was interested in me.) Thomas was the only person I have ever been able to do absolutely nothing but talk for hours upon hours and love every minute of it. On January 5, 2013 we began a relationship. That day was one of the best days of my life, until March 28, 2014 blew it out of the water. Thomas asked me to marry him and I said, "Yes!" Outside of Christ coming into my life, this was the biggest question I'd ever been asked, the most life changing decision ever presented, and yet the easiest one to make.

My diary said it best on December 8th, 2013: "I have liked Thomas Paine ever since I can remember, and I will love him til the end of forever."

Thomas, thanks for challenging me to dive deeper with my relationship with Christ, for forgiving me over and over again, and for showing me what 1 Corinthians 13 kind of love looks like. I will never deserve you, but I am willing to spend my life trying. "Because of you, I have been changed for good." ;) Can't wait to marry you on September 20th 2014! I love you babe.