The Proposal

I've been meaning to do this for over a week now. A major, life-changing event took place last week, and you'd think one of the first things I'd do, as a writer, would be to post a blog about it. No such luck. Real life comes first.

But since I have some (*gasp!*) free time on my hands...

Anna Kate and I have been dating for two years, two months now. Our relationship has been a bedrock of happiness, love, support, and warmth that has pulled us through a rough-and-tumble entry into the "real world" beyond the unappreciated four years of college life. I truly believe I could never have made it this far without Anna Kate. She says otherwise and seems to think I'm smart and resourceful enough that I would have found a way to graduate and teach on my own. To which I say, "bah and feh." :)

It was Monday evening, November 5, at the dinner table. Fried chicken, green beans, and baked bread. I had a serious talk with my parents. My work schedule has been so demanding of late that the chance to sit down and have dinner-table discussions has become rarer and rarer. Basically, I told them that I was ready to ask Anna Kate to be my wife. They'd asked me about it several times prior. I maintained that I wasn't going to rush things. I wanted to wait until God let me know the time was right.

It's hard to describe what it's like when you receive any kind of answer from God. Oftentimes, it doesn't come crystal-clear or in words. It's usually unaccompanied by trumpets or any divine light or "Halleluia!" from the heavens like you see so many times in the movies. It comes in unexpected ways. A feeling. A smile. A gesture. An accident. Our Creator moves in mysterious ways. I don't even fully know how He told me the time was right to move forward on the marriage path. Then again, God wouldn't be worthy of our worship if we could comprehend the ways in which He communicates.

From that night on, we began laying the groundwork for my proposal. I went to such lengths to surprise Anna Kate the day of her graduation (see May 2006), and I wanted this proposal to be as perfect, or close to it, as possible. I visited my Aunt Verna at Childress Jewelers to look for rings (and receive a free education on the virtues of picking out the right engagement ring). I scrutinized each sample painstakingly. I'm a harsh enough critic on my own, but this was another level. Then we laid out a proposal night plan. As the weeks went by, we refined it step by step until the date finally arrived - Thursday, December 6.

Now, originally, I'd planned to go for our "monthiversary" - December 7, the date on which we first started going out. We'd celebrated that date in some way every month afterward. But the Friday of Thanksgiving Break, while out hunting Christmas trees, Anna brought up the idea of going with her Dad and Step-mom to Gatlinburg, Tennessee that Friday through Sunday. Couldn't very well turn that down without sounding very suspicious. I can remember making an excuse to use the restroom in Burger King just to call my Mom and fill her in. So the decision was made to push back the proposal date to just before the trip.

So...fast forward to that night...it was already hectic to begin with. School aside, I had my final internship seminar at Furman. Since they tend to frown on absences, I had to attend. Thankfully, it passed quickly. At about 6:45, I hurried out of Furman and burned rubber to Anna Kate's house to pick her up. I had set dinner reservations for us at Chophouse '47. This made her excited and a little surprised. After all, it isn't every day you eat at a ritzy place like Chophouse. But then again, it was our monthiversary. Or close to it.

We ate dinner at 8:00, and I remember waiting an excrutiatingly long time to get our bill. That's because I knew all too well what was going on elsewhere at that moment.

Meanwhile, back at the ranch (okay, I always wanted to say that), my family was busy setting the stage for the proposal in our living room. As we left Chophouse at about 9:40, I gave them a call. Now I had told Anna Kate we would try to secure a carriage ride in Fountain Inn or downtown Greenville, but it didn't work out, so we could go back to her house and do some lesson-planning.

I played dumb and say that I'd forgotten my laptop. So I phoned my parents to let them know we're on our way to pick it up to take to her house. I acted annoyed.

The whole time we spoke, my Mom was filling me in on tablecloth, rose petals, and the location of the ... well, the you-know-what (come on, guys, do I even need to spell it out?). Anna Kate is seated next to me inside the car. All the while, I'm going, "Yeah, yeah, I know, I've gotta be more careful and keep my stuff with me..." We put on a good show. Gotta love coded banter.

Strangely enough, I'd felt calm and composed all night, but pulling up to the house, I started sweating bullets (later, I found out my parents had hidden just inside the neighborhood culdesac and watched us go by in the darkness). I was firing up lots of last-minute "arrow prayers," asking God to give me the words to speak.

I let Anna out of the car, and we walked inside. I asked if she wanted to sit for a minute in the living room. She hesitated, thinking we needed to get going. While she wasn't watching me, my hand shot behind the kitchen counter to fish "it" out.

A soft glow and faint music captured her attention. She went in. There was a round table with white tablecloth, adorned with cream-colored rose petals. Dark and white chocolate-covered strawberries and chilled champaigne at the sides. All lights out save for the candles, the Christmas tree, and a gentle fire burning in the hearth. Light, orchestral Christmas music by Kenny G glided softly through the scene.

By this point, Anna Kate had a pretty good idea of what was about to happen. I asked her to sit down, close her eyes, and hold out her hand. I pressed something into her open palm. She opened her eyes to find a box & me on one knee. Her eyes filled with tears as I made my proposal. Then I revealed the ring. I asked her to be my wife. She said yes. We embraced, laughed, cried, and celebrated like crazed school kids. Our wedding date is set for June 6, 2009.

So...life is sweet. I have my lovely finacee, Anna Kate Rampey, soon to be Anna Kate Ballinger, at my side, and we are destined to be together forever. Just the thought of it makes me beam with happiness. God is wonderful, and His hand has been in this all along. It makes me smile to think of how far He's taken us, as well as what He has in store for the many, many years to come.

(And since I'm sure you'll read this ... I love you, cherry sweetheart!!!)