Trinity Baptist Church

Wedding Day

Spring

Our Wedding

Starting&nbsp;college&nbsp;in&nbsp;the&nbsp;spring&nbsp;semester,&nbsp;I&nbsp;was&nbsp;adapting&nbsp;to&nbsp;my&nbsp;new&nbsp;classes&nbsp;when&nbsp;I&nbsp;noticed&nbsp;the&nbsp;cute&nbsp;girl&nbsp;sitting&nbsp;a&nbsp;few&nbsp;chairs&nbsp;down&nbsp;from&nbsp;me&nbsp;in&nbsp;my&nbsp;Lit&nbsp;class&nbsp;wearing&nbsp;her&nbsp;hair&nbsp;up.&nbsp;I&nbsp;was&nbsp;intrigued&nbsp;by&nbsp;her&nbsp;cochlear&nbsp;implants.&nbsp;A&nbsp;week&nbsp;later,&nbsp;I&nbsp;decided&nbsp;to&nbsp;sit&nbsp;one&nbsp;chair&nbsp;closer&nbsp;in&nbsp;order&nbsp;to&nbsp;see&nbsp;if&nbsp;she&nbsp;would&nbsp;sit&nbsp;in&nbsp;her&nbsp;same&nbsp;seat.&nbsp;She&nbsp;did&nbsp;and&nbsp;this&nbsp;gave&nbsp;me&nbsp;the&nbsp;opportunity&nbsp;to&nbsp;introduce&nbsp;myself&nbsp;and&nbsp;talk&nbsp;to&nbsp;her.&nbsp;It&nbsp;was&nbsp;not&nbsp;long&nbsp;after&nbsp;this&nbsp;that&nbsp;my&nbsp;mom&nbsp;asked&nbsp;me&nbsp;who&nbsp;the&nbsp;cutest&nbsp;girl&nbsp;on&nbsp;campus&nbsp;was,&nbsp;and&nbsp;I&nbsp;told&nbsp;her&nbsp;about&nbsp;this&nbsp;“one&nbsp;girl&nbsp;who&nbsp;sits&nbsp;near&nbsp;me&nbsp;in&nbsp;Lit&nbsp;class.” Since&nbsp;we&nbsp;had&nbsp;friends&nbsp;within&nbsp;the&nbsp;same&nbsp;group,&nbsp;we&nbsp;saw&nbsp;each&nbsp;other&nbsp;around&nbsp;campus&nbsp;and&nbsp;started&nbsp;talking&nbsp;outside&nbsp;of&nbsp;classes.&nbsp;After&nbsp;dinner&nbsp;one&nbsp;night,&nbsp;all&nbsp;of&nbsp;our&nbsp;friends&nbsp;had&nbsp;plans,&nbsp;so&nbsp;I&nbsp;asked&nbsp;Elise&nbsp;if&nbsp;she&nbsp;would&nbsp;want&nbsp;to&nbsp;hang&nbsp;out&nbsp;in&nbsp;the&nbsp;student&nbsp;center&nbsp;to&nbsp;play&nbsp;air&nbsp;hockey&nbsp;and&nbsp;ping&nbsp;pong.&nbsp;She&nbsp;agreed&nbsp;and&nbsp;after&nbsp;that&nbsp;we&nbsp;started&nbsp;hanging-out&nbsp;together&nbsp;frequently. Artist&nbsp;Series&nbsp;was&nbsp;quickly&nbsp;approaching,&nbsp;and&nbsp;I&nbsp;was&nbsp;strongly&nbsp;encouraged&nbsp;by&nbsp;my&nbsp;roomates&nbsp;to&nbsp;ask&nbsp;Elise&nbsp;to&nbsp;be&nbsp;my&nbsp;date.&nbsp;At&nbsp;dinner&nbsp;one&nbsp;night,&nbsp;I&nbsp;asked,&nbsp;and&nbsp;she&nbsp;said&nbsp;yes.&nbsp;I&nbsp;didn’t&nbsp;waste&nbsp;anytime&nbsp;asking&nbsp;my&nbsp;next&nbsp;question:&nbsp;“What’s&nbsp;your&nbsp;favorite&nbsp;flower?”&nbsp;And&nbsp;this&nbsp;is&nbsp;how&nbsp;I&nbsp;learned&nbsp;of&nbsp;Elise’s&nbsp;love&nbsp;for&nbsp;sunflowers.&nbsp;(I&nbsp;also&nbsp;asked&nbsp;for&nbsp;her&nbsp;second&nbsp;favorite&nbsp;flower&nbsp;so&nbsp;that&nbsp;I&nbsp;would&nbsp;be&nbsp;prepared&nbsp;in&nbsp;the&nbsp;event&nbsp;that&nbsp;I&nbsp;could&nbsp;not&nbsp;find&nbsp;sunflowers&nbsp;in&nbsp;February&nbsp;in&nbsp;Wisconsin.) In&nbsp;the&nbsp;upcoming&nbsp;weeks,&nbsp;I&nbsp;realized&nbsp;that&nbsp;the&nbsp;more&nbsp;time&nbsp;I&nbsp;spent&nbsp;with&nbsp;this&nbsp;beautiful&nbsp;girl,&nbsp;the&nbsp;more&nbsp;time&nbsp;I&nbsp;wanted&nbsp;to&nbsp;spend&nbsp;with&nbsp;her.&nbsp;The&nbsp;next&nbsp;big&nbsp;dating&nbsp;event&nbsp;at&nbsp;school&nbsp;was&nbsp;the&nbsp;spring&nbsp;play,&nbsp;Arsenic&nbsp;and&nbsp;Old&nbsp;Lace&nbsp;and&nbsp;since&nbsp;I&nbsp;was&nbsp;in&nbsp;the&nbsp;play,&nbsp;I&nbsp;couldn’t&nbsp;ask&nbsp;her&nbsp;to&nbsp;be&nbsp;my&nbsp;date.&nbsp;Instead,&nbsp;my&nbsp;family&nbsp;invited&nbsp;her&nbsp;to&nbsp;join&nbsp;us&nbsp;for&nbsp;ice&nbsp;cream&nbsp;on&nbsp;the&nbsp;night&nbsp;they&nbsp;came&nbsp;to&nbsp;see&nbsp;the&nbsp;play.  When&nbsp;the&nbsp;end&nbsp;of&nbsp;the&nbsp;semester&nbsp;came,&nbsp;Elise&nbsp;returned&nbsp;to&nbsp;Vermont&nbsp;and&nbsp;I&nbsp;went&nbsp;to&nbsp;serve&nbsp;at&nbsp;a&nbsp;camp&nbsp;for&nbsp;the&nbsp;summer.&nbsp;We&nbsp;messaged&nbsp;one&nbsp;another&nbsp;throughout&nbsp;the&nbsp;summer,&nbsp;and&nbsp;in&nbsp;the&nbsp;fall&nbsp;we&nbsp;came&nbsp;back&nbsp;to&nbsp;school&nbsp;not&nbsp;certain&nbsp;if&nbsp;we&nbsp;were&nbsp;going&nbsp;to&nbsp;take&nbsp;this&nbsp;relationship&nbsp;deeper. A&nbsp;few&nbsp;weeks&nbsp;into&nbsp;the&nbsp;school&nbsp;year,&nbsp;I&nbsp;asked&nbsp;Elise&nbsp;to&nbsp;take&nbsp;a&nbsp;walk&nbsp;with&nbsp;me.&nbsp;By&nbsp;the&nbsp;end&nbsp;of&nbsp;the&nbsp;walk,&nbsp;I&nbsp;had&nbsp;her&nbsp;dad’s&nbsp;phone&nbsp;number&nbsp;and&nbsp;her&nbsp;permission&nbsp;to&nbsp;call&nbsp;him&nbsp;so&nbsp;that&nbsp;I&nbsp;could&nbsp;ask&nbsp;for&nbsp;his&nbsp;blessing&nbsp;to&nbsp;date&nbsp;his&nbsp;one&nbsp;and&nbsp;only&nbsp;daughter.&nbsp;That&nbsp;was&nbsp;one&nbsp;of&nbsp;the&nbsp;scariest&nbsp;phone&nbsp;calls&nbsp;I&nbsp;had&nbsp;ever&nbsp;made.&nbsp;After&nbsp;being&nbsp;interviewed&nbsp;by&nbsp;Mr.&nbsp;McIlwaine,&nbsp;he&nbsp;gave&nbsp;me&nbsp;permission&nbsp;to&nbsp;date&nbsp;his&nbsp;daughter.&nbsp;During&nbsp;the&nbsp;rest&nbsp;of&nbsp;the&nbsp;fall&nbsp;semester,&nbsp;I&nbsp;feel&nbsp;even&nbsp;more&nbsp;in&nbsp;love&nbsp;with&nbsp;my&nbsp;sweetheart&nbsp;(as&nbsp;did&nbsp;my&nbsp;family). The&nbsp;spring&nbsp;semester&nbsp;arrived,&nbsp;and&nbsp;Elise&nbsp;shared&nbsp;with&nbsp;me&nbsp;that&nbsp;her&nbsp;parents&nbsp;were&nbsp;planning&nbsp;to&nbsp;visit&nbsp;MBU.&nbsp;This&nbsp;was&nbsp;exciting&nbsp;since&nbsp;it&nbsp;was&nbsp;going&nbsp;to&nbsp;be&nbsp;the&nbsp;first&nbsp;time&nbsp;I&nbsp;would&nbsp;get&nbsp;to&nbsp;meet&nbsp;the&nbsp;McIlwaines.&nbsp;But&nbsp;God&nbsp;had&nbsp;other&nbsp;plans&nbsp;in&nbsp;mind&nbsp;when&nbsp;Elise&nbsp;had&nbsp;a&nbsp;sudden&nbsp;seizure&nbsp;in&nbsp;the&nbsp;middle&nbsp;of&nbsp;one&nbsp;of&nbsp;her&nbsp;classes&nbsp;in&nbsp;February.&nbsp;This&nbsp;resulted&nbsp;in&nbsp;hospitalization&nbsp;for&nbsp;Elise&nbsp;followed&nbsp;by&nbsp;her&nbsp;parents&nbsp;withdrawing&nbsp;her&nbsp;from&nbsp;school.&nbsp;During&nbsp;her&nbsp;hospitalization,&nbsp;I&nbsp;was&nbsp;able&nbsp;to&nbsp;meet&nbsp;her&nbsp;parents&nbsp;before&nbsp;they&nbsp;took&nbsp;her&nbsp;home&nbsp;to&nbsp;Vermont.&nbsp;This&nbsp;was&nbsp;truly&nbsp;God’s&nbsp;hand&nbsp;of&nbsp;protection&nbsp;as&nbsp;Elise&nbsp;was&nbsp;able&nbsp;to&nbsp;get&nbsp;home&nbsp;before&nbsp;COVID&nbsp;shut&nbsp;down&nbsp;everything&nbsp;in&nbsp;March&nbsp;of&nbsp;2020. The&nbsp;next&nbsp;few&nbsp;years&nbsp;we&nbsp;continued&nbsp;to&nbsp;date&nbsp;long&nbsp;distance,&nbsp;visiting&nbsp;each&nbsp;other&nbsp;whenever&nbsp;time&nbsp;and&nbsp;budget&nbsp;permitted.&nbsp;In&nbsp;October&nbsp;of&nbsp;2021,&nbsp;I&nbsp;asked&nbsp;my&nbsp;Papa&nbsp;Gordon&nbsp;to&nbsp;go&nbsp;with&nbsp;me&nbsp;to&nbsp;the&nbsp;local&nbsp;jeweler&nbsp;and&nbsp;help&nbsp;me&nbsp;pick&nbsp;out&nbsp;a&nbsp;diamond&nbsp;engagement&nbsp;ring&nbsp;for&nbsp;Elise.&nbsp;My&nbsp;grandfather&nbsp;was&nbsp;pleased&nbsp;to&nbsp;be&nbsp;asked,&nbsp;and&nbsp;together&nbsp;we&nbsp;went&nbsp;and&nbsp;ordered&nbsp;an&nbsp;engagement&nbsp;ring.&nbsp;As&nbsp;we&nbsp;left&nbsp;the&nbsp;store,&nbsp;my&nbsp;papa&nbsp;turned&nbsp;to&nbsp;me&nbsp;and&nbsp;said,&nbsp;“I&nbsp;think&nbsp;you&nbsp;picked&nbsp;out&nbsp;a&nbsp;good&nbsp;one.”&nbsp;As&nbsp;I&nbsp;smiled,&nbsp;he&nbsp;added,&nbsp;“And&nbsp;I’m&nbsp;not&nbsp;talking&nbsp;about&nbsp;the&nbsp;ring.”  In&nbsp;May&nbsp;of&nbsp;2022,&nbsp;Elise&nbsp;came&nbsp;to&nbsp;visit&nbsp;for&nbsp;a&nbsp;week.&nbsp;I&nbsp;had&nbsp;planned&nbsp;to&nbsp;ask&nbsp;her&nbsp;to&nbsp;marry&nbsp;me&nbsp;at&nbsp;one&nbsp;of&nbsp;our&nbsp;favorite&nbsp;trails&nbsp;at&nbsp;Devil’s&nbsp;Lake,&nbsp;WI.&nbsp;So&nbsp;that&nbsp;she&nbsp;would&nbsp;not&nbsp;suspect&nbsp;me,&nbsp;I&nbsp;had&nbsp;invited&nbsp;some&nbsp;friends&nbsp;along.&nbsp;It&nbsp;was&nbsp;a&nbsp;beautiful&nbsp;sunny&nbsp;day&nbsp;for&nbsp;a&nbsp;hike,&nbsp;and&nbsp;when&nbsp;we&nbsp;got&nbsp;to&nbsp;the&nbsp;perfect&nbsp;spot,&nbsp;I&nbsp;told&nbsp;her&nbsp;how&nbsp;much&nbsp;I&nbsp;loved&nbsp;her,&nbsp;knelt&nbsp;on&nbsp;one&nbsp;knee,&nbsp;and&nbsp;asked&nbsp;her&nbsp;to&nbsp;marry&nbsp;me.

Luke & Elise

Luke & Elise

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