I turn—and there they are. My parents. Gabby. The rest of my siblings. All standing just beyond the palm trees, grinning like they’ve been waiting for this exact moment.
Apparently, the theme of tonight is me gasping.
“What are you guys doing here?” I ask. Then quickly say, “did you know?” I point to my mom. “Didyouknow?” and then to my dad, “Didyouknow?” and then finally to Gabby, “Didyouknow, too?!”
My mom laughs. “Of course we knew!”
Every ounce of stress I didn’t even realize I was carrying melts instantly. Phew.
“He asked for your hand in marriage earlier today while you and Gabby were making dessert,” she adds. “And when he asked, I told him, ‘don’t just take the hand—you’ve gotta take the whole thing!’”
“I approve of him,” my dad says simply, giving me a nod, then Nate another.
Nate nods back. That quiet, wordless exchange between them somehow says more than a whole speech ever could.
And I’m so relieved my dad approves.
Before I can say anything else, Gabby almost wipes me out with a hug attack..
“I only found out an hour ago when Nate asked me to help,” she says dramatically. “Hegave me more details than you did about yesterday.” She narrows her eyes at me, hands on her hips.
I laugh and wrap my arms around her neck, squeezing tight.
“I know, but I wanted to make sure he was on the same page as me. I needed to know he was all in if I’m not going back to Belgium.”
The group goes quiet at that.
“So, you’re okay with not going back?” my mom asks gently.
I nod slowly. “I prayed last night about it. I wanted to talk to Nate first… but I was willing to stay if it meant exploring whatever this is between us. But I think this kind of one-ups my original plan.” I laugh softly.
All my siblings pile in for a group hug then, and I’m suddenly wrapped in warmth and noise and love from every side. I look up at Nate and see his radiant smile, joy clear on his face.
Sometimes God’s way is slow. My life leading up to this moment felt slow at times—waiting, wondering, asking what He was doing, trusting that He hadn’t forgotten me. He loves patience, after all.
But sometimes… God moves in a single second.
And in those moments, you just have to trust. To take the risk. To follow where He leads, even if the path looks wildly different than what you imagined.
Both Nate and I knew the kind of person we wanted to marry. We prayed about it. Surrendered it to God.
And now we get to start an adventure—falling in love while planning a wedding.
I smile, looking around at the lights, the candles, the man holding my hand, and the family gathered behind us.
I love that.
I love that God writes stories better than I ever could.
So much more surprising. So much more fun.
And I’m so excited for whatever comes next.
21
Nate
3 months later
