that I presumed was merely a date commenced with a jolly jaunt to the beatific
Huntington Library.
We moseyed about the sprawling flora-inundated grounds 'til the sweltering heat rays induced in us a veritable doozy
and made an ephemeral pit stop on a rickety wooden bench quite inviting. "Let's just read for a while," Alex suggested.
"Sure," I replied, grateful to be gratifying an interlude from July sunshiny radiance for a smidgen of time.
After perusing some literary prowess, he reached into his backpack and said, "There's something I've been meaning to give you to celebrate your completing your first year of
TFA."
"Wow!" I exclaimed. Two perfectly aged and raggedy copies of some of my most favored literary lovelies:
Through the Looking Glass circa 1946 and
Eloise circa 1955.
"I know you love vintage books," he smiled. "Open this one first," he said, gesturing towards
Through the Looking Glass.
On faded mint-hued library cards was the first three subsections to God's glorious story, and how he and I are a part of it, from "
Creation," to "
Fall," to "
Redemption." They denoted God's principal authorship and Alex astutely wove our individual testimonies into the first three segments of the encompassing gospel tale. I was, at that point, floored by Alex's creative artillery.
"Now open this one," he urged.
"I love
Eloise!" I exclaimed as I eagerly flipped to the inside of the front cover to behold a handful of more lovely library card stories that, in this instance, center around our courtship thus far, with God still authoring the grand gala. The first, entitled "A desire for a
godly woman," unveils whence he began having feelings for me. The second, entitled "What I admire in Helen Wong," is, er, legitimately self-explanatory. The third, entitled "
The Gospel Coalition: Vacation!!," rehashes bountiful blessings from our first out-of-state foray. The fourth, entitled "Will you pray about something?," recounts when he divulged to me his feelings for me (a colossal shocker 'twas, I tell ya!). The fifth and last, entitled "Some Dates," depicts a smattering of the swashbuckling adventures we've undertaken thus far, with the dates accompanying each succinct description. After poring o'er them all, I launched into photograph-snapping mode (per usual) to visually immortalize such creativity cream of the crop.
"Here's another one," he said. He had pulled a third vintage hardcover out of his backpack.
"Wait," I said. "Lemme finish taking pictures of these two first."
"No, look," he said.
I indulged a gander at the cheery cherry red tome on his lap. "
Mary Poppins (circa 1962)! Oooh," I sighed happily.
Then I glimpsed the card within. My jaw dropped. "Oh my gosh," I gasped.
Following the first card were two others, exemplifying tokens of God's continuing authorship of the His resplendent story in which we shall, Lord willing, play a part soon, entitled "
Marriage" and "
Restoration (the final chapter of God's gospel story)."
He then flipped to the following pages
where a breathtakingly beautiful ring was tucked in between cut-out pages. He got down on one knee, and before I could take a breath, was (Mary) poppin' the question, "Will you marry me?"
Fat tears had welled up in my eyes and blurred my vision by then. I nodded in speechlessness, and then uttered giddily, "Yes!"
He then said, "I have something else for you in the car. Let's go get it."
I surmise that I agreed, but I was in a dizzying state of utter awe that I was just the recipient of quintessentially the most superb proposal ever, so I believe I just trailed his brisk pace towards the garden's front entrance.
Except when we reached our destination, we saw this.
And this.
An arrestingly magnificent surprise celebratory handcrafted picnic with some of our nearest and dearest coterie. Oh my!
I could scarcely believe mine eyes.
'Twas an amiable affair replete with the handcrafted details with which I am enamored, including paper floral decor,
primary-colored fabric bunting,
vintage knick-knacks,
daintily-wrapped sandwich savories,
whimsically decadent macarons,
delectable homemade cupcakes, and more.
Alex and I are so ridiculously blessed to have been gifted such amazing chummies in our lives. We thank the Lord mucho for you all. Thank you so kindly for the wondrous surprise to remember, the Christ-centered encouragement, the heartwarming effort and time you all sacrificed to prepare and come, and for the wholehearted support from Day 1. Our hearts swell with gratitude to the Lord that you are in our lovely lives.
Thank you Lord for graciously gifting me the most wonderful, godly man who loves You more than anything in this world, who shows me how good You are through his life and servant-leadership (since the day I met him six years prior!), who leads me to know and love You more, and who makes me smile and laugh forevermore, amongst other thangs. I am beyond thrilled that I get to spend the rest of my life adventuring with you to ascertain how God shall author the rest of our lives,
Alex Hong! I'm the most blessed gal, indubitably.
to scour nooks and crannies all o'er town for time-honored treasures
to augment the amalgamation of vintage artifacts,
followed by pit stops at a delectable waffle sandwich eatery phenomenon
for sweet concoctions
and savory complements,
all perfectly wrapped up with hefty heart-to-hearts with dear chums.
"God uses His Word to change us. Through us, it can change others, too."
goes out to all you genial gents and gals. Thank you kindly for the very merry well wishes and profuse use of !s in rapidfire response to the 
