"This Is Really Happening!"

December 24th, 2007. I drove over to Steve's home so that we could go to the Christmas Eve service together at Common Ground. I knocked on the door only to get a glimpse of him through the blinds. It caught my eye that he didn't have a shirt on...!  He opened the door only so slightly...I couldn't see anything but his face.  He then asked if it would be ok if I waited in the car for him.  Not thinking anything of it, I waited in the car and sang songs along with the radio.  He walked out and got into the car and apologized... Again, I didn't think anything about it. He then called a close friend on our way to church only to hear his friend say, via speaker phone, "Have you asked her yet? Are you engaged?"  Once AGAIN, it didn't register. I knew that many were asking Steve the same question but I didn't think that anyone knew the timing in which he woudl ask me. It was hilarious looking back at these events!

The service was wonderful!  Christmas Eve has always been one of, if not THE favorite day/night of the year for me. So reverant... Steve and I were getting ready to leave Common Ground when all of a sudden something paranormal happened :) -  Steve had his cellphone out and was texting.  At this time in our relationship, Steve rarely carried his cellphone anywhere outside of his car, nonetheless texted. This DID strick me as unusual, but AGAIN...I didn't think much else of it.

As walked out of church, Steve shared with me that we needed to run to the store to get some cinnamon rolls for the Christmas morning breakfast at his family's home in Franklin.  We ran to Walgreen's, the only store open at the time, and bought 9 Hostess Honeybuns!! NINE!! As we walked out of the 62nd Street and Keystone Walgreen's Steve is blowin'-up his phone (texting) again.  "Hmmmmm."

We pulled-up to his house and sat in the car listening to a song that we both loved... As I was getting out I looked down at my feet and saw some red cranberry-looking things.... "What are those from?" I thought...

As he opened the door to his home I saw ~200 tealights glowing around the room.  Two thoughts came to my mind"  "Is this really happening?" and "How long have these been lit?! That could have started a fire!"

We sat down on the couch and in my view were 20 tealights, a cranberry wreath bordering the table ("THAT'S where those cranberries came from- on the floor of the car!"), two glasses of red wine, 5 ring boxes, and a Bible.  I was pretty intrigued seeing 5 ring boxes... Curious, to say the least.

Steve picked-up the 1st box on the far left. Inside was a gray, jaged rock.  Steve then shared the story and process of how he prayed for this event... He had driven up to my home in Anderson, where I was born and raised.  He sat in his car outside our home and prayed for a few minutes and then got out of his car. He found a rock in the driveway and upon holding it   God told Steve's heart that the rock represnted where my journey of faith began. Although rough and jaged, it was the beginninig.

Following the trek to Anderson, Steve then drove 2 1/2 hours down to Bloomington...visiting the Pi Beta Phi house (where I lived during my 4 years at IU). He found a rock and prayed.  This rock was interestingly enough shaped like an arrow.  God shared that this was where He gave me what my heart thought it wanted...but that those things just pointed me toward Him even more.

The 3rd and final trip was to Indiana State- to where I lived during Graduate school (2001-2003).  Again Steve prayed and found a rock (it was dark in color and very smooth to the touch).  He sensed God was saying that this was a season in my/Mer's life where lots of painful events had refined/smoothed me down. It was where my faith in Him/God really grew.

Steve had each rock in it's own box.  The 4th rock was given to me at a women's Bible study and it said, "Princess." God was telling me that He saw me as a Princess. When you feel really low about yourself, those words really touch your heart.   As you can guess, the 5th and final box was the ring.  He placed it on my hand and asked me if I would marry him.  Immediately following this proposal, Steve read a verse from my favorite book: Ruth.

Ruth 1:16-18 "But Ruth replied, "Don't urge me to leave you or to turn back from you. Where you go I will go, and where you stay I will stay. Your people will be my people and your God my God. ¹⁷ Where you die I will die, and there I will be buried. May the LORD deal with me, be it ever so severely, if anything but death separates you and me." ¹⁸ When Naomi realized that Ruth was determined to go with her, she stopped urging her."

I realized later that Steve was texing Scott and Whitney Saucedo as to let them know that we were on our way... The "Sauces" lit all of the candles for us! (Thanks, Scott and Whit!)  The reason why Steve had his shirt off when I answered the door earlier in the evening was because he was lighting the candles around the living room- seeing how long it would take (giving it a trial run).

Psalm 37:4
Delight yourself in the LORD; And He will give you the desires of your heart.


I didn't think I was worthy to be loved like God loves me... and certainly didn't think a man would love me as my heart desired.  Yet, God knew these desires and encouraged me to wait/trust/hope in Him.  Steve was/is worth the wait.  


Isaiah 54:5
"For your husband is your Maker, Whose name is the LORD of hosts; And your Redeemer is the Holy One of Israel, Who is called the God of all the earth.


God will always be my everything... I can only be the wife that Steve deserves by God's grace and with His help, daily.