I've always heard it said, “A picture is worth 1,000 words.” and every time I've ever heard the phrase, I'd think of a picture, or at least the one who delivered the term was referring to, and try to come up with 1,000 words to describe it. Often, I'd never be able to, just because I' didn't know the circumstances under which the picture was taken. I'd try to come up with descriptive words about what I thought was happening in sort of a list format, but after thinking about it again recently and looking through my own pictures, I decided that this one in particular truly is worth 1,000 words, and here they are:
“Neither one of them had ever
expected to find anyone they truly felt they could spend the rest of
their lives with. No, the thought or even secret hope either or both
may have harbored in the past had been so suppressed by this point in
their lives that the idea of marriage almost seemed like a joke to
laugh at. Sure, others could marry and that'd be fine, but for
Danielle and Aaron, the concept was too quixotic.
Danielle was a quiet, often diffident
being. Though inside she entertained enormous dreams for her future,
she had come to a place in life where she felt it necessary to bury
said aspirations for the sole purpose of defending herself in fear of
more ridicule than she'd already been receiving from her newfound
“friends” at this new college she's recently transferred to.
Aaron was also a rather private individual in the eyes of those
outside his inner circle, though he didn't necessarily seem it from
Danielle's perspective. Why? Well, he'd volunteered to lead a Spring
Impact trip from Central Bible College to St. Michael, Alaska; a trip
which Danielle had more or less been “dragged into,” though
really, it was a new calling she'd soon realize God had placed on her
life.
They met in passing and greeted one
another in the most perfunctory manner. Neither of them cared to know
each other, so needless to say, there was no love at first sight;
however....
Monday, February 25, 2013 amidst
ministering to the natives of St. Michael, an extraordinary thing
occurred: Danielle experienced the most amazing, supernatural freedom
divinely bestowed by God- a freedom from fear that she hadn't
realized she'd been enslaved to for the majority of her life.
Suddenly she was filled with a heavenly joy and unrelenting laughter.
No matter how hard she tried, she couldn't stop and it was then that
she suddenly became the most beautiful creature Aaron had ever
beheld. At the same time, Danielle then thought, as she had never
believed before about any human being, “This guy is HOT!”
Feelings were relatively easy to
suppress the rest of the trip, though during the return journey and
getting stranded in Unalakleet for a day, their mutual interest (but
still unknown to each other) was given encouragement to develop by
common mentor Dr. Henry Rieber. And over the next week, the interest
became too great to contain. One night while studying together with
two other friends also present, Aaron resolved to confess his
affections, so the following evening he requested that Danielle meet
him in the library to “exchange class notes they'd both missed.”
After exchanging notes (yes, they really existed) he took a deep
breath and, “Danielle, I need to tell you something.” As he
proceeded to explain that this was something he'd been prayerfully
considering, the preface alone excited Danielle, though her
assumptions that it concerned the recent trip would rapidly be proven
wrong.
“I like you.” Well, that was
certainly unexpected. Danielle sat silent and stunned for a few
minutes, all the while leading Aaron to believe that he'd just made a
fool of himself when truly she was thinking to herself Great, now
I have to tell him the truth...
“I like you
too.” This response startled Aaron which caused the both of them to
erupt in uncontrollable laughter.
Fast forward a
month; April 1, 2013: Danielle and Aaron had spent the past few weeks
sharing conversation mainly over post-homework walks. They both
understood the significance of what they were doing and what it could
lead to and after long pondering over the timing of when to date
(yes, they had decided this was what they wanted to do at some
point). So after discussing the question, “What's the difference
between dating and what we're doing now?” Aaron fell silent.
Danielle, frustrated with his sudden absence of spoken word,
passive-aggressively demanded an answer to which Aaron suddenly
asked, “Danielle Amundsen, will you be my girlfriend.” Again, the
answer could be nothing short of profuse laughter (That answer
meaning Yes.)
Fast
forward another 7 months; November 19, 2013: Is was Danielle's 21st
birthday and Aaron had decided he was going to make it the best
birthday she'd ever had because in year past, her birthdays weren't
exactly the most outstanding. He picked her up around 8AM dressed as
an elf in order to themes her birthday Lord of the Rings- her
favorite- and took her around town for scavenger hunts, puzzles, and
other challenges (assisted with by other friends.)
This
is the best birthday ever, Danielle
thought to herself, but unbeknownst to her, it still wasn't over. At
the end of the day, Aaron took her to one last place; along the way
in order to gather puzzle pieces, Danielle was to go to significant
locations which included where they first met, first became a couple,
first dance, and now where they shared their first kiss. They walked
along the sidewalk that passed Central Bible College and stopped at a
telephone post. Aaron held a small wooden chest, which he'd been
using to gift her each puzzle piece. Danielle's excitement increased
by the nanosecond. Finally! The puzzle will be complete! Aaron began
speaking of sentimental things, asking her to remember the time he
said that the first person he kissed would be who he married. Of
course she remembered, but she still failed to put two and two
together.
Then, Aaron got
down on one knee, opened the chest and said, “Danielle, will you
marry me?”
Her response? A
euphoric symphony every secret hope bursting to the surface as more
jubilant laughter escaped her soma. It was pure, heavenly elation at
best. (Don't worry, Aaron did give her the last puzzle piece which
made a folding block of pictures of the two of them.) And now, they
are to be blissfully wed in the beautiful state of Alaska on June 1,
2014.”
