What I Love

If you watched the proposal video, you got about 2 minutes of really wonderful things Ryan said about me. It was so comforting and affirming and such a blessing to hear him say to me all the things he loved most about who I am. I knew them...but who doesn't love to hear those things out loud?

So you might be wondering...what is it that drew me to Ryan? What do I love about him? How could I know so quickly that he is the kind of man I can entrust my entire life to? What made me certain he's the one I want to spend every day with for the rest of my life?

Read on.

And these are in no particular order.

* I do have to start with his heart for the Lord. I've gone to church with Ryan for the last four years, and in that time I've seen the way he serves in the church. He's on the praise team, he taught our Sunday School class for a big chunk of that time, and he was involved in a lot of other things at church too. I'll be the first to say that church involvement is good (great, even!) but doesn't always tell the true state of the heart. Anyone can serve in church and then go home and be someone else. But as I've gotten to know him, I've been able to see that the man who serves in public is the same man who goes home and prays...and studies Scripture...and does everything he can to live a life that follows Micah 6:8 - to live justly, love mercy, and walk humbly with his God.

* He is an amazing spiritual leader. I've never dated anyone who willingly took on the role of spiritual leader in our relationship. Ryan does. He leads us in prayer together, he leads us in devotions together, and takes on that role with confidence and with much grace. I love it.

* He is SO FUNNY. We have a great time laughing together. It took us no time at all to develop a long list of jokes that we love - and we just laugh all the time. He has such a sense of humor. We try to enjoy the hooey out of life and so far, we do a pretty good job.

* He pushes me out of my comfort zone, all the while making sure I'm safe and loved. I'm a big fat chicken, y'all, and he sees in me the potential I can't always see in myself. He pushes me with such love and affection that he's helping me to become more than I knew I could be - and yet I never feel unsafe.

* He loves coffee. He loves pictures. He loves scrapbooks. He loves shopping. He loves cooking. And he loves to share all those things with me. We drink coffee together every single day that we see each other. We took 118 pictures on our first date. He helped me pick out an outfit for our engagement pictures. He looks at my scrapbooks and encourages me to make more to preserve our memories. He will pilfer through stores with me, hunting for treasures. He loves to not just be in the kitchen with me but help me make every meal and we love sharing all those things.

* He brings me gifts. Flowers, journals, coffee, clothes, cards, notes, surprise lawn mowing, surprise gas-tank-filling - he does a million little tangible things all the time that make me feel so loved. So cared for. That's brand new for me.

* He's a planner. He plans dates, he's taken on the lion's share of wedding planning, and he has a plan in place for our future in every aspect. I love to plan too - so it's such a blessing to have a husband-to-be who not only understands it - but he does it too.

* He is so affectionate. He loves to hold my hand and snuggle and kiss me (sorry for all the pictures of that) - and I love it. That is a HUGE love language for me, so it means so much to me that he's excited to do those things.

* He's vocal about his love. I get dozens of texts every day telling me how loved I am - and morning phone calls and evening Skype dates and a thousand other ways in between he out-loud tells me that he loves me.

* He sees me. This girl who felt invisible for so many years finally feels SEEN. He sees everything about me and loves me. He loves the heart of me - the heart that was afraid to show up again for fear of being rejected again. He loves that heart.

* Not gonna lie - because you all have eyes. He's one handsome man!!

* In 1999, I wrote a list of 25 things I must have in a husband. It's a detailed list. I pulled it out and looked at it - and he meets EVERY SINGLE THING on my list. Every one.

God has blessed me - and I can't think of anyone better suited for me than Ryan. We are an example of a couple of broken roads that led straight to the other. We love our love story - despite the pain we had in the past. I love the man he is and I love the hope of a bright future together - honoring God for what He has done!