The Glorious Unfolding

We love because He first loved us. (1 John 4:19)

I am so loved. Beloved by God, by my family, and by my friends. Some people are open enough to recognize unconditional love from God, others are beyond blessed if they experience that from family and friends... I have never not known love. My parents' love for me made it so easy to believe in and recognize a Heavenly Father who unconditionally loves. I have had an amazing sister to grow up with and to be able to also call a friend and confidant now. I have always had wonderful friends by my side at every stage in life.

I met Tyler at a Bible study two years ago. I have never believed in romantic "love at first sight" - but there was something special that happened the first time I saw him (and pretty much every time I have seen him since then). It wasn't long before we started hanging out and eventually dating. His honest, genuine transparency and his unwavering, unashamed love for God caught my attention and became ever more apparent the better we got to know one another. In July, after canoeing across Portage Lake and checking out the glacier on a rainy day, Tyler asked me to marry him. I knew then as I know now, nothing could make me any happier than to be his wife.

We began making preparations for a simple, elegant, backyard wedding this fall. This past week Tyler noticed several of his lymph nodes were swollen. With wedding bells in the near future, he chose to be more cautious than usual and went to the doctor. We soon learned that he has lymphoma. The news was devastating. We fought emotions of how unfair it is, how it just doesn't make any sense, that it just isn't right. I was feeling angry, frustrated, fearful... In the midst of telling me, Ty held on to me, prayed with me, and then grabbed his guitar and played/sang Come Thou Fount and In the Secret.

At that moment, I was reminded of the kind of man he is and how fortunate I am that he is mine. We decided that as we move forward into this battle, it will be as husband and wife.

Today, on a perfect, rainy turned sunny, Alaskan beach, we joyfully vowed our love, faithfulness, and support to one another. Steven Curtis Chapman has a newer song out. I'm actually not that big a fan of the music, but the lyrics are spot on...

And this is going to be a glorious unfolding
Just you wait and see and you will be amazed
You've just got to believe the story is so far from over
So hold on to every promise God has made to us
And watch this glorious unfolding