I also knew that one of my friends, Kristi-- was in on the plan. So she received multiple texts over this past month that read something like this, "So... how soon is "soon?" and "When is it going to happen?"

Ironically, I sent her another text on Wednesday morning that said, "I just want you to know that you told me I would be getting engaged "soon," and that was over 3 weeks ago." She replied with some "haha's," told me to relax and enjoy the moment and let it happen, and that again, it would be "very soon."

Little did I know how "soon" soon was! 

In my mind, I had no idea how this proposal could take place on a weekend, because we always had our weekends pretty planned out. So my mind couldn't fathom how he would sneak a proposal into one of them. Because of this, I wondered if he wouldn't come surprise me during the week sometime. But as time marched on, I dismissed that idea and concluded that it had to be happening this upcoming weekend. It just had to be.

Ever since Ryan and I started talking last Spring, we've always had a standing "Skype Date" on Wednesday evenings at 8:30. It was always fun to catch up "face-to-face" mid-week and talk for awhile. 

A couple of other things I'll preface this story with is that we've also talked extensively about building a teleporter. (I think anyone in a long-distance relationship who is reading this will understand why). Being able to teleport would cut out the 3 hour drive we have to make in order to see each other. Also, I told Ryan that I didn't want a big "public" proposal but that I would love anything he did and honestly-- all that it takes to make me happy is to hand me a Starbucks frappucinno.

So as usual, we had planned to Skype last night. As it turned out, I didn't end up going to Tazewell jail to volunteer, so I texted Ryan to let him know I could Skype at an earlier time.

"What about 7:30 then?" he replied.

Sounded great. I drove home, and on my way, noticed my eye was bothering me. So when I arrived, I took out my contacts and put on my glasses. I never wear my glasses, mostly because I'm basically blind with them on. But I figured I would be Skyping the rest of the evening and sitting really close to the screen, so it wouldn't matter.

At 7:30, I was set up and ready to Skype when Ryan texted me that he was going to reset his internet router, because it was acting up. This was nothing new, and usually happens once every time we Skype. Then a couple minutes later, he texted again, "I think I'm having a breakthrough with the teleporter. Check your front door."

I got up, ran to the front door, and immediately saw a Starbucks mocha frappucinno sitting on the ground. I smiled, picked it up, and looked around. Who put it there? Was Ryan nearby? I hesitated, then went back inside, concluding that he must have arranged for a friend to drop it off as a fun start to our Skype date.

He texted me, "Did it work?"

I responded with "Yes!!! How did you do that?!"

And he texted, "I think I'm coming through."

I ran back to the front door and opened it just as he was walking up. I couldn't believe my eyes! How was he actually here?

He received a huge hug from me and then he got down on one knee, told me he loved me and asked me to marry him! I said YES!!!

It was then that I noticed the camera set up to our right, and about that time, Kristi walked over from across the street with her camera. Because I had my glasses on, I didn't see ANYTHING except the only one I really wanted to see who was right in front of me the entire time-- Ryan.

I loved it and it was all so sweet and perfect. The best part is that I was definitely surprised and had no idea, despite all of my digging!

Every single day, I thank God for Ryan and the joy he brings into my life. Sometimes it's hard to be long distance, but I can't wait until someday very "soon"when we won't even need a teleporter to be able to see each other within a moment's notice anytime we want.

T

My whole life, I have prayed for someone who would walk into my life and be faithful, loving, committed, and kind. I have prayed for someone who would partner with me to be an amazing team for Christ as Kingdom-builders. I have prayed that this man of God would come to me at the perfect time and in the perfect way. 

All of these prayers were answered with one guy, and they were not only answered but far exceeded anything I could have imagined.

It's difficult to know where to begin, so I'll start at the most logical spot-- the beginning.

Marriage has been a desire on my heart for as long as I can remember. I always hoped it would happen sooner rather than later in my life, but knew God was ultimately in control. Yet a girl still hopes, and as more and more years passed by without this happening in my life, at times I would struggle. It's not that I doubted God's goodness or His faithfulness. In the deepest place of my heart, I knew without a shadow of a doubt that God would be faithful to me in this desire. However, that didn't take away the impatience and anxiety I sometimes felt. Why wasn't it happening for me? It was easy to get discouraged, but a heart check would always quickly refresh my perspective. I would try to remember that my identity is in Christ, not my marital status, and I am to be faithful in that relationship no matter what.

So that's what I did. I plugged into Christ as much as I could because I knew that even if one day marriage did come, my relationship with Christ would still have to be the priority. This freedom gave me the opportunity to be involved in my church, in jail ministry, run my own business with a friend for several years, travel with friends on trips, do some mission work in Africa and buy my own home. 

Last year, I started to feel like God was working on me in certain areas of my life to open up my perspective. At the end of December, I traveled to Mexico for a week to visit a dear friend of mine who does mission work at a children's home. I brought along my Bible and a book-- "The Sacred Search." I ended up with a lot more down time than I expected, so I filled that time soaking up the warm Mexican sun and plugging into Scripture and focusing on the book. This book was a welcome perspective for me, and opened up my eyes to how God works and what to consider when looking for a godly mate.

I returned home from my trip relaxed and refreshed. The new year had started (2015), and I celebrated my 29th birthday. A couple weeks into January, I was sitting at a restaurant with two good friends having a girl's bible study together, and I noticed a message popped up on my phone. It was from a friend of my sister's who has known me since I was a little girl. She has stayed connected with me over the years, and knows my family well. Her name is Geege.

It was a message asking if I would be interested in a guy she had in mind for me. She said he was a committed Christian, came from a great family, and was just all-around awesome. I remember when I read this message, a HUGE smile came to my face. To be honest, I had always hoped someone who knew me would set me up, and this just felt completely right. I gave it a night of rest, but answered her with a resounding "YES, I'm interested" the next day. As it turns out, he was, too. His name is Ryan.

Geege is really good friends with Ryan's sister. So she knew him pretty well. The awesome part of this story is that the night before she sent the message, she woke up in the middle of the night unable to go back to sleep. For some reason, God laid my name on her heart, and she couldn't stop thinking about it. Then, Ryan popped into her mind-- and she started making the connection. Taryn & Ryan...? Suddenly, it felt like the perfect match, one in which she couldn't get off of her mind. She felt compelled to say something. I will be ever grateful that she did.

Up until this point, even though Ryan and I had plenty of opportunities to meet throughout our lives, we never officially met until January 2015. Our first meeting could have been as early 1986, the year we were born-- I was born on Jan. 2nd and he on Jan. 9th, even in the very same hospital! He grew up in Roanoke and in the AC Church, and I in Morton and in the AC Church. We both attended ICC during the same time frame, and he had Morton guy friends while I had lots of Roanoke friends. In 2008, Ryan moved away to Madison, WI to accept an internship at Epic as a software developer. He has been with Epic ever since, and has a house in the Madison area. Since then, I've been the photographer at a couple of his friends' weddings. Surely, our paths could have crossed pretty easily, but they never did until we were set up.

Geege was awesome and presented the idea to both of us, but then kind of put the ball in our court, offering to help where she could. I looked up Ryan on Facebook, and he looked familiar to me. A couple days later, he sent me a friend request and then followed up with a personal message.

We began e-mailing each other, just to get to know each other and see if we could be friends. It became apparent right away that we could be the best of pen pals. We enjoyed writing to each other about all kinds of things and the best part was seeing how much we had in common and how naturally our values aligned. 

After a couple months of getting to know each other over e-mail, Ryan told me he would be coming back to Central IL for a visit and asked if I would be interested in spending some time with him. We arranged to have lunch on a Saturday. It was a cold, snowy day when he picked me up, and we enjoyed lunch together and the hours flew right by as we spent the rest of the afternoon together and even dinner. We both agreed that we really like spending time together! So we decided to make it happen more often and to start Skyping.

From there, things just evolved very naturally. Our friendship continued to grow every time we talked. As I continued to get to know Ryan, it was so obvious to me that he was the one who I had always prayed for... someone who is a committed, godly, humble, steadfast and kind leader. His hunger for biblical knowledge and faith in God are so evident. I find myself daily thanking God for Ryan and his example to me, and how this relationship draws me closer to Christ!

We have used these past several months to get to know each other better, meet each other's parents and families, spend some time with friends, and visit each other's towns and churches. It has been awesome to see how God has blessed us both with families that love the Lord and strive to serve Him. We are also extremely grateful for the love, support and encouragement from friends and family, and for the counsel we have received from various others. Engagement is very near, and Ryan has had fun telling me it will be "soon" so I am anxiously awaiting the opportunity to answer a very exciting question :)

In the mean time, we have given other details much prayer, thought and consideration. We have decided to spend our first years of marriage in the Madison area. Ryan and I will both be able to keep our jobs and settle in his house together. We also look forward to finding a church where we can worship in our community. This will require a lot of exciting changes for us both, but I am confident that God will be with us as we begin this new journey together. We have been thankful for His amazing peace and work in our lives as He faithfully directs our steps!