Anyway, as most of you know, John and I met at Christ the King at LSU. During that time he was living in the church. He also had a holy hour at the adoration chapel of Our Lady of Mercy once a week (I would like to add it was a VERY LATE holy hour). But this became a weekly ritual for the two of us. I would accompany John there where we would pray together. Mercy is where we grew from the very beginning. I actually remember having the epiphany one night in that chapel that I really liked John more than friends. As our relationship blossomed and we began officially dating, we continued to go to Mercy. It was a safe haven and a place of peace for both of us. Now that John lives in Connecticut, we planned that when he came down to visit me for Christmas break we would have a date night and go to Mercy to pray.
Our date was a full day event. We met up with two of John’s friends and hung out all day and even had lunch at our beloved Chinese Combo King followed by a trip to the mall (two days before Christmas...enough said). Later that night we got ready and went out to dinner at my favorite restaurant, Carraba’s. We finished dinner with dessert at Coldstone and then it was off to Mercy. As we sat there in the chapel, I remember thinking how tired I was but how good it felt to be in the presence of this man I was sitting next to. John always makes me feel really protected. After about a half-hour, I leaned over and whispered to John that I was sleepy and ready to go. We left and decided to take a walk outside of the chapel. They have the Stations of the Cross set up and a little paved way. We walked through them all. At the end of it John asked me what my favorite memory was of us. I thought about it and laughed and I kept saying “I don’t know” but I could tell he wanted an answer so I told him one of the times that I felt happiest. He then looked at me and said, “Well…this is mine.” It was there that he got down on one knee, outside the chapel after we had been praying. I said yes and he stood up immediately to hug me (probably because he saw the tears rolling down my eyes). I was so filled with happiness but it was one like I had never felt before. Usually when I get excited I get really giddy but this excitement was partnered with a deep peace. The thrill didn't end there. John had prearranged all of our friends and family to have a surprise engagement party at my house. When we pulled up we were greeted by everyone. I was so surprised (again) and about to burst with joy and I just knew we were setting the stage for the rest of our lives by being surrounded by so much love. If I could change anything about that night, it would be for John’s family to have been there. Other than that…it was absolute perfection.
Okay…moving forward to present day. I have had so many people ask me questions about our wedding lately and it is so comforting. Since John is living in Connecticut we have to make a lot of effort to communicate with each other as regularly as a normal couple would while juggling demanding classes and work schedules. So when people are excited about our wedding, it is just all the more motivation for us to stick through this harder stage for our wonderful lives ahead of us. I can't wait to see what's in store for me next!
Pictures from our engagement party
John and his best man, Michael.
Right after getting out of the car, I was so surprised!
So sweet!! Thank you for the story...pretty sure that I did not get all of that detail from John. Congratulations!!
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