How the Coach Won My Heart - Part 8

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He'd done it. He'd asked me to marry him. After 3 weeks of courtship. Just when I thought I'd figured out that there was no way for us to be engaged anytime soon.

I was very surprised.

OH. And I said yes. Actually, I think I kind of hollered "YES!"

Of course. I had been waiting to hear those words since I was a little girl. To be loved by this amazing guy. The blessing of our families made it sweeter, still.

There was no embrace, no kiss. He had made a commitment to wait until his wedding to kiss his bride. And we weren't there, yet. In spite of the fact that I had dreamed it that way, it was a beautiful moment, nonetheless.

I was still in shock as he sat back down beside me, while we looked more carefully at the ring he had place on my finger. It was beautiful. I was amazed.

And then, before I had a chance to catch my breath, he said, "I've been thinking about a date. How about December 17th?"

I think that surprised me even more than the actual proposal. After all, when he asked me to marry him, I just immediately assumed he had changed his mind about the long engagement. But THIS? THIS date? It was only eight and a half weeks away.

Eight weeks. To plan a wedding. To find a place to live. That wasn't a lot of time. And a DRESS! Oh my!

We only had a few more minutes to talk alone before all of the family started showing up. First my parents, back from dinner I'm not sure they ate. Then his parents, younger brother and little sister arrived. Soon after, my brother and sister-in-law and baby nephew. It was a party! All wanting to see the ring, all asking if we'd talked about a date. I said (not believing it when I heard myself speak), "December 17th." As if I'd really had time to think about it.

The truth was, I had no idea when it actually was or how it would work out. But I had said yes to the Coach. And if he had wanted me to marry him the next day, I would have.

He had thought about it. He'd thought about his classes, his basketball team, his Christmas break from school. If we married that particular weekend, he'd only miss a couple of days of work. We could have a one week honeymoon and be back for Christmas. Then a week to settle in before school started, again. He had it planned perfectly. I, on the other hand, had no clue. But it sounded just fine. And truthfully, I didn't care. All I knew was that I wanted to be his wife.

We all sat around in the living room, he and I beaming, the family asking questions. We sat close together, but not holding hands. The phone began to ring as those who knew "it" was going to happen started to call. The news was shared all around with lots of laughter and a few tears.

I couldn't believe it.

We were getting married! I didn't know him well, really. We hadn't spent a lot of time together or talked through every subject and what we thought about it. I didn't know his likes and dislikes, what his favorite meal was, his favorite song or much about his childhood or college years.

But I knew he was the one.

We had followed the Lord and walked through the open doors with the blessing of our families.

I had never been more sure of anything.