A Forever Thing

The first time we laid eyes on each other was on Mother's Day, 2015. I was in a dark place in my life at that time and was not attentive to another fling or anything temporal. Anthony was a new convert and became intrigued by me. He was a bit timid and refrained from telling me that he was interested in getting to know me beneath the surface. I was still battling with my own demons, so I placed myself at a distance. August 25, 2015 was my 19th birthday. My twin brother threw a surprise party for me, so I drove from Lansing to Romulus to share our birthday weekend together. Anthony was invited to our party with a few other close friends from our church. I remember we went to Dave and Buster's and he couldn't keep his eyes off of me! I promise I'm not flattering myself--it's the truth! Our birthday weekend was over and Anthony and I kept in contact through Facebook leading up to what we call, "The Wedding Weekend". At this time, my older brother, Orrice, was preparing to marry his beautiful bride, Angelica [now wife]. "The Wedding Weekend" was one to remember. I was able to share in my brother marrying his best friend, as I was discovering mine. Anthony and I begin communicating everyday and realized that we enjoyed each other's company and we were capable of talking even the moon to sleep. I was still trying to find my way back to God, but it seemed like he made it easier. There was something about him--he kept me close even when he had every reason to push me away. And still, he saw greatness in me when I felt robbed of my promise. During "The Wedding Weekend" I felt peace. I felt alive again. I felt a new beginning was on the horizon, and indeed, it was. We ate brownie brittle together [a lot] and enjoyed the crisp air of the fall evenings. We didn't know that "The Wedding Weekend" would forge our future to our very own wedding. God had a plan and He fulfilled it. Once a new convert and a backslider--Jesus made a beautiful thing out of us.

We talked about marriage a lot throughout our courtship, and we shared in the longing of one day becoming one. Although we didn't always see it in our reach, we held on to the promise of God, allowing our faith to destroy any doubt that tried to linger in our hearts and minds. We knew the Lord would make a way for us, but it was a matter of being patient and trusting the perfect timing of God. Having to part ways at the end of the night became heart-throbbing, and to think about the days we'd no longer have to do that, seemed like everything glorious. The revelation hit us like an array of sun--revealing that things would never be perfect, because marriage is like an endless book that never runs out of pages that we can learn and study from. In some strange way that takes me back to our handwritten letters we'd often write each other. Those were my favorite! I enjoyed opening up those envelopes, scented with his cologne and being able to connect with him in a way that texting, calling and facetiming did not allow me to. Somewhere in the midst of his pen to paper, he began writing his love on my heart and we no longer desired to just court. We wanted to continue courting inside a covenant. Prior to our engagement, he never dropped any hints that he was planning to propose to me-- he was very polished. He informed and asked for the approval from my Pastor and family. It was a Sunday and Father's Day of 2018; at the close of service, a leader silenced the congregation and made an "announcement". But it wasn't just any announcement, I was called up to the pulpit to join Anthony. He began to speak and express his love to me and before I knew it he was down on one knee, asking me to marry him. Everything thereafter felt so surreal. In a moment the Lord answered our prayer and heart's desire-- no longer just in the quiet and subtle moments of sincerity, but before all men. And the best part, God happened.