How We Met (Emma’s Story)

Andrew and I grew up attending Lakewood Baptist Church. There is a 5 & ½ year age difference between us, so we did not really speak to each other. Why would a junior in high school talk to a fifth grader? Although we didn’t ever really cross paths, we knew of each other.

During summer 2019, I transitioned into the college ministry at Lakewood. On the first night attending the group, Andrew was leading the discussion. Although no one knew it, I was immediately smitten. I had seen Andrew several times as my brother had participated in Upward sports for many years, but I hadn’t ever been interested in him (maybe because he was two years out of college and I was still in high school?). From that night on, I looked for opportunities to talk to him.

The rest of the summer we exchanged a few words at various church events. I was crushing on him the whole time. I was so drawn to his love for God and the church, his maturity, his work ethic, his leadership skills, and his sense of humor. You can also usually find him swarmed by large groups of children shouting his name as they try to give him hugs and hi-fives. Towards the end of the summer, Lakewood’s middle school pastor paired Andrew and I as co-leaders for the middle school mission trip (shoutout to Chris Hargrove for that incredible pick). Leading a large group of middle schoolers will quickly bond two people together. This allowed us to truly become friends, which would eventually lead to talking more for the next few months until he officially asked me out in November.

Our relationship is evidence of the goodness of God. God is so kind and generous. He is our Father who gives good gifts, and this relationship is a gift that we do not deserve. We pray to steward this gift well all our lives.

Proposal Story (Andrew’s story):

I knew fairly early on that I wanted to marry this woman. Seeing the Lord's work in her life made me desire to spend my life with her even more. So, knowing the time should come soon, I eagerly waited for when I would propose.

The basis of the plan was that we would go on a hike and I would propose at the top of the mountain. While some details changed, the main parts didn’t. I originally planned to propose on Sunday April 25th , but after purchasing the ring and picking it up on April 14th , I knew I didn’t want to wait much longer. By that point, we had already made a plan to go hiking on the 18th and enjoy our day then. There were other plans that Emma made for the day, but I always laughed in mind thinking how that would all change once the real purpose of this hike was revealed.

We were set to do a sunrise hike. I thought it would be great to do the proposal then. We were going to go to Preacher’s Rock, a place I had hiked before and even camped out nearby once. It has a beautiful lookout and also happens to be a very simple hike as well -

perfect to do in the morning. We had also done hikes together before but never a sunrise hike, so this was going to be a special moment for us both.

The night before, I struggled to fall asleep. Part of this was due to the fact that I went to bed while it was still daylight, so the evening sun peaked through the blinds, making it harder to fall asleep. I was also excited for what was to come. I was giddy the whole night before falling asleep.

That morning, I woke up around 4AM. I picked Emma up from her house so we could leave from there to go to Preacher’s Rock. We arrived in the wee hours of the morning. One thing that was brought to my attention was that other people would be doing this sunrise hike as well. However, I had no desire to have a crowd for

the proposal. When we pulled in, there were two other cars pulling in with us. So, we immediately hit the trails and began the hike. As we approached the top, we realized there were several people sleeping at the top of the rock… Again, this was not what I was particularly wanting. But we found a spot and we began to wait for the sun to rise. I put aside my bag, I grabbed the box, and made my way back down to join Emma. Deciding to not waste any more time and to also avoid having a crowd, I seized the moment. So even while it was still dark, I took Emma’s hand and said whatever I said in that moment...I think she said "yes."