Happily Ever After

     Zac and Amanda were two very different individuals when they met.  They had both recently graduated from college, Zac from Tulsa University and Amanda from Pittsburg State University.  He was the quarterback, she was the homecoming queen.  So, by all movie standards, they were destined to be together.  But something much deeper than a hollywood cliche was drawing these two to be at the perfect place at the perfect time.  

     It was Sept of 2007.  On this particular evening, Amanda was going to a birthday party for a friend at a restaurant on the Riverwalk in Tulsa, OK.  Zac was there too, with his own friends when he noticed an acquaintance he hadn’t seen in a while.  On most normal occasions, Zac would have tried to avoid the sometimes awkward situation of running into someone you haven’t seen in a while and all the meaningless small-talk that comes along with it.  However, this night was different.  Zac did begin speaking with him. 

     

     In the midst of the conversation, Amanda caught his eye from a small distance away.  The very moment he laid eyes on her, she made a deeper, lasting impression on him.  This wasn’t just some girl in a restaurant.  Zac was seeing Amanda through a different set of eyes, eyes that would eventually become clearer to him as his new life began to unfold.  But for this special moment in time, he was struck by her radiant spirit that seemed to glow from the inside out.  He saw a light in her Spirit he was instantly drawn to.  He had to meet her.  It was like his next breath depended on it.

     Through his unexpected run-in with an old acquaintance, Zac got his introduction.  Amanda, however, was not as eager.  She was just there to spend time with friends and meeting a guy was the last thing on her mind.  But Zac, being the persistent salesman that he is, would not take no for an answer.  That night, he " sold " himself to Amanda.  She relented and gave him her phone number.  When Zac called her, they proceeded to have the longest, deepest, most meaningful conversation either of them had ever had.  They both felt an unusual connection and knew something special was beginning.  This led to their first official date at quaint, little steakhouse on Main Street.  

     Before they met, Amanda, began attending a church in Tulsa, OK.  During her time of being single, she had began to learn so much about herself and about God’s love for her through her pastor's teaching.  Zac, on the other hand, though he was raised in church had drifted away some during his college years and was coming into this relationship with a bit of a wild past.  After Zac began attending church with Amanda, he began to realize the unmistakable light he had seen in her that first night was her love for Jesus.  He knew he had seen in her the spirit, the love, and the connection that he, too, so desperately wanted.  They began growing in their journey to know Jesus more together and their connection grew deeper in the passing months.  

     Zac and Amanda both knew they needed to surround themselves with other couples who felt the love they felt for one another and for God.  They began to seek out a small group at church where they could find the deeper, committed friendships they were looking for.  They finally found a group, a community of friends where they could really connect.  Here, they were able to surround themselves with couples who truly loved them and wanted to see them become all they could be for God and for each other.  That’s exactly what began to happen.  Zac and Amanda would faithfully show up to their small group, God would speak to everyone, Zac would cry, Amanda would comfort, and their love for one another grew deeper with each passing month.  As they grew in their relationship with one another and with the Lord, they both felt they were ready to take their commitment to the next level.  Zac knew he wanted to propose to Amanda.

     Zac went to a jeweler and custom-designed the ring for Amanda he felt was the visual picture of the light that shone from within her spirit.  The magnificent yellow diamond and the beauty of the finished ring was only a fraction of the beauty Zac saw when he looked at Amanda.  This ring would be the outward symbol of his internal commitment to her for the rest of their lives, but Zac did not propose right away.  He knew Amanda’s relationship with her family was such an important part of her life and wanted to respect her by getting the needed permission of her father.  Zac drove to Amanda's hometown to meet with him and, after stating his intentions, Amanda’s dad gave the blessing for Zac to marry his little girl.  He now felt more ready than ever to ask her but it was really important to Zac that he propose at a time when Amanda least expected it.

     It was August of 2008.  They had driven to Amanda's parent's home to celebrate her birthday.  Amanda’s entire family would be there and Zac could not think of a better time or place to propose.  It was a celebration of Amanda’s life, the life he had fallen in love with, surrounded by the people who meant the most to her, those who would become his family.  However, as the night went on, Zac was never able to find the right time to ask with the whole family there.  Reluctantly, he decided to wait for a more intimate moment just between the two of them.  

     Later that evening, after the party, as they were sitting on the couch at Zac’s house casually talking, he looked at her and suddenly felt compelled to ask the love of his life to be his wife.  His love for her had been building to this moment and he was ready to put a permanent seal on his commitment to her.  He told her to sit tight for just a minute while he grabbed a little surprise he had for her.  When he came back, in a very intimate moment only the two of them could be a part of, he asked Amanda to marry him.  There they sat.  In this small, quaint house that, together, in all of their love, they would turn into their home.  From this moment on, every time they sat in that very spot, they would be able to instantly go back to the time when they agreed to join their lives together.   They could go back to the moment where only the two of them would know the overwhelming emotion of finally ending the journey to find “the one.”  For they had found each other and would now begin a a new journey, not as individuals, but as a complete pair. 

SO ... TELL ME ABOUT YOUR HAPPILY EVER AFTER ...

Zac and Amanda were married on October 17, 2009.
They are now expecting their first baby, a little girl due in April!