As John and I stood on the edge of a cliff overlooking Bean Lake, my eyes filled with tears. John was down on one knee in front of me, asking me to marry him, and my heart was overflowing with joy.

The tears, however, melted into laughter as I realized that John was holding the ring box upside down. I said yes anyways.

Despite the little proposal hiccup, John and I are incredibly excited to be getting married and beyond thankful to the Lord for the way He has directed our steps in this direction.

Our love story started out with a heavy dose of friendship. We went to the same Bible study and hung out with the same friends in high school, but our friendship really took off when John came to visit me and some friends in the Cities where I was going to a Bible College. After a weekend of worship and fellowship, John felt God calling him to attend FLBC. Contrary to popular opinion, he did not come just so he could hang out with me. He showed up the next semester in a swirl of joy and energy, and we became close friends almost immediately.

To make a long story short, over the next year John and I both grew individually in our relationships with the Lord, as well as in our friendship with each other. By the time winter break rolled around, we were both confident that we should start dating and pursing clarity on whether or not we should eventually get married. Clarity might have come a little bit more quickly for John than for me, but it all panned out in good time.

John’s and my relationship has brimmed with running, hiking, exploring the outdoors, tuna sandwiches, Thai food, ice cream, long talks, good friends, cribbage, lake plunges, rom coms, Bible–studying, and a whole bunch more. It has been filled with ups and downs, with mistakes and victories, with joys and frustrations. Fortunately, though, we have had the best Guide of all, Jesus Christ, leading us through our lives and relationship. As we continue through our engagement and launch into married life, we would love prayer that we would glorify God both individually and together, and that we would follow Him always with all of our hearts.

We can’t wait to celebrate with you on June 7!

Sincerely,

Anna Renn (with editing approval by John McNallan😁)