A Proposal (from the guy who asked)

posted on: 10.05.2012



December 10, 2010, I asked her for her hand in courtship. September 29th, 2012, I asked her for her hand in marriage. I was asked to write first hand about the proposal, as I was the one who did it. This whole experience has been something of a whirlwind.


This story starts in July, 2012. It was a Tuesday. I was fasting. The Lord said, "It's time." The last time our father said this was in December of 2010. I knew He was referring to engagement. I immediatly began to weep. These were not tears of joy, mind you, they were tears of sorrow. I didn't have a job (still don't) and didn't have a ring. I loved her (still do) and wanted the best for her, how could God ask me to move to the next level when I was (or so I thought) ill-prepared? He told me to contact her uncle and ask him for her hand in marriage. 

I couldn't bring myself to disobey.

I contacted her uncle for lunch, and it just so happened that her mother was in town as well and would be joining us. I had no idea how they were going to say, "yes" to a jobless, ring-less man, but I trusted God. Long story short, they said, "yes" over lunch that day. Only God knows how or why. Within the coming weeks, I talked with my parents who were a tad less than enthused. They saw what I saw: jobless and ring-less. The big kicker is that I felt God tell me that September was the month I would be engaged AND He would provide a ring by then. Her uncle, aunt, mother and my parents knew this. The pressure was on.

Flash forward to September, the first week. A lady in my church here in Florida approached me and said, "I believe that you and Ashley should be engaged. I have a ring you can have, but make sure that no one in your family has a ring for you, and then just come and ask me for mine." Wow. How nice. I was believing God for the ring, though, and I didn't feel comfortable asking for one. I told my mom the story and she quickly mentioned some story-changing news. "I actually have a ring that my grandmother gave me this past January. It was her 25th anniversary ring. I thought about giving it to you, but it's really special to me." In that moment, I knew that was the ring God was going to provide.

Now it's the last week of September and I still had no ring. Over the weeks, my mom's heart was softened and she was willing to give me the ring, she just needed to make sure it was worth something and that the diamonds were real. It came down to Thursday, September 27th. I finally felt the peace of the Lord to call my mom and ask if she had gotten the ring appraised. She hadn't, but quickly asked, "When did you want to ask her to marry you?" I stated, "This weekend." She was overwhelmed and said, "I will go to the jewelers right now!"

Before I knew it I was on a plane to Puerto Rico. I finally genuinely surprised my girl, just with my presence, and then we had a fantastic time on a date together. I really wanted to propose in a photo booth, but to my demise there are no photo booths in Puerto Rico. I knew that the following day we would be spending time with her mother and father and this (at 12:30am) would be the last time we were truly going to be alone together. I told her to take off her make-up and then we would say goodnight. While she was taking her make-up off I got the ring out of my bag. She came back in the guest room I was staying in, and sat on the edge of the bed with me.

"I love you," I broke the silence. Her face was stone. "I love you, I love you, I love you." I continued, "We promised each other that we would never say that unless we can prove it. Well tonight I can prove it." I pulled out the ring and asked, "Ashley, will you marry me?" She began to cry. My confidence was heavily shook up. Were these tears of joy? Sadness? She composed herself and stated, "I'm happy!!!" She then cried on my shoulder for what felt like eternity and re-composed herself only to say, "Okay, let's try this again."

I suppose the rest is history. This story was so far from perfect, but perhaps that is when God gets the most glory. She said yes. The ring fit. God is smiling. May we be able to enjoy this season as much as the last, as this starts a whole new journey.

I get to marry my best friend.

33 Smiles:

  1. beautiful.
    thank you so much for sharing.
    i love how God set it all up for you two. amazing!

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  2. love love love! congrats you two! you're a beautiful couple and an inspiration. love how the Lord is working in and through your lives and love!

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  3. i am bawling. i mean, goodness gracious! God is legit. i'm /so/ happy for you two! gah! yay!

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  4. so beautiful! ahhh, how can i not love the both of you! :) God is doing really amazing things in both of your lives. x

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  5. Beautiful and heartmelting =) So happy for the both of you!

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  6. I admire your patience and faithfulness throughout your courting period. Wishing you all the blessings in the world as you plan for marriage!

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  7. so beautiful. I loved seeing the hand of God so at work through your truly real-life romance. this was just lovely.

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  8. YAY yay yay! What a beautiful story of God's providence and timing! I am SO genuinely happy for you two and for all that God has in store for you.

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  9. Oh my gosh. I am so crying. This is so sweet and such a testament to God's faithfulness. I'm so happy for you both!

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  10. Yayy! I loved your story ! A God ordained love story...now that's something to be proud of.

    ~Chymere A.

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  11. thanks you for sharing! God sure does know every detail, congratulations to you both!! :)

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  12. Congrats! God is a great provider and is always perfect in His timing. Blessings to both of you!

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  13. AH! so lovely and beautiful. you two look great together--- and obviously ARE great together. When I first read this I was thinking he proposed in 2010 and was like "how did I NOT know this?" anyway, congrats and good luck with the wedding planning. Wow, truly blessed!

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  14. That is a beautiful story Louis. I'm so happy you will be marrying Ashley, truly.:)

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  15. So lovely!! Congrats!

    Thanks for the blog comment!

    ~Sara
    sarastrauss.blogspot.com

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  16. this is so so so so sweet....I am so happy for you Loius and Ashley. I believe it will be such a blessed marriage.

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  17. this is so, so beautiful & sweet. it's not often you get to read the "proposer's" point of view ;)

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  18. Congratulations!! You two are so cute... what a great story.

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  19. Oh I love this perspective of the story. Well written, Louis. You have made my beautiful friend oh so happy!

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  20. This is such a cute story! I'm so happy for you guys! Ya'll look beautiful together. =)

    Tessa Emily
    www.christiswrite.blogspot.com

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  21. Well, this is just amazing. Beautiful post and beautiful song.

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  22. so, so precious. what a gift of love you two share!

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  23. I loved reading the story from Louis' point of view! Ashley texted me that night asking where she could find a photobooth and I can't believe they had taken them out of every place I could have thought of. Seems like God had a better plan, he probably wouldn't have wanted Ashley walking around with smeared make-up! Lol :)
    I don't know how many times I've said this but CONGRATS to you both, once agin!
    God has great plans for both of you!! ♥

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  24. So lovely! Such a beautiful story. And you guys look so cute together.

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  25. What a lovely post <3 i am so happy for you both and this is only the beginning !! :)
    xoxo

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  26. I'M SO HAPPY FOR YOU!!!! YOU TO ARE WAY TO CUTE TOGETHER!!!!!!:)

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  27. Congrats beautiful girl! I am so so so happy for you! This story made me get all choked up! Are you going to be sharing your side of the engagement anytime soon?

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  28. congrats beautiful girl! I'm so so so so happy for you! Reading this got me all choked up. Are you going to be sharing your side of the engagement anytime soon?

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    Replies
    1. Aww yay! Here's my version: http://www.prettyladysmiles.com/2012/10/sundays-best-engaged.html

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  29. This is absolutely the cutest thing I've read today. How perfect are you two, and I love his perspective. Many congratulations, girl!!!!!
    xo TJ

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  30. what a blessing to read! you guys are being held and governed by the holy spirit and everything that God has for you in marriage on earth will be blessed because HE is the foundation and center. praise God for your obedience and this is an amazing story of FAITH!!!

    ♥CheChe

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