The Story of Us (LONG post ahead) :)

So, here we go...

Matt and I first met through our church's college group. I think I was maybe a sophomore and he was a senior (we're 2 years apart in school, 1.5 in age). I was really impressed with his friendliness and, upon hearing him pray, with his heart for God and desire for His will. The summer before my junior year, the college ministry was going to have a back to school cook out on a farm. The out-going interns asked another girl and me to help some guys plan in. No, Matt wasn't one of those guys. ;) BUT, he offered to help us set up the day of the party. He ended up riding with me to pick up the bbq and side items from Buddy's BBQ. On our way, it started raining. Buddy's is about 1 mile from my parents' house, so I told him (I was driving) that I wanted to stop by home and change clothes--it was going to get chilly and I wanted an extra layer. We did make the stop, and he visited with my mom at the kitchen table while I changed clothes.

I remember my mom was impressed by him as well. For awhile she would ask me, "So, did you talk to that Matt guy at all?" Unfortunately, the answer was usually no. There was ONE time after the Blink (our college mid-week praise and worship) when he talked to me exclusively after it was over. Even my friend Rachel (a bridesmaid :) ) noted his exclusive interest in conversing with me that week and was trying to find a way to arrange a time for us to hang out. At that point, I had seen him enough to know that he was really friendly. And while I would have loved for our talk to indicate romantic interest on his part, I was trying REALLY hard not to get my hopes up. And I'd seen that he was friendly in general and it probably meant nothing. That suspicion as confirmed the next week when he talked to some other girl. He wasn't, and isn't, flirty, he's just friendly and talkative.

I became busy with student teaching (I student taught a class of young toddlers for a semester at UT's child development lab) and he became busy with senior projects (as an engineering student, he finished college in 5 years, which is very common in UT's difficult engineering programs), so we didn't see each other much for about a year!

About 1.5 years later, I ran into Matt one Sunday morning at church. Brad & Joy were manning the information desk, and Matt stopped by looking for the Kairos class. That was our Sunday school class--couples and singles in their 20s (and now also, early 30s). I offered to show him where it was, since I was headed that way as well. Matt ended up sitting with Brad, Joy, and me, but that was all it really amounted to. I did invite him to a summer Bible/book study the college ministry had organized, and he came. The study was on John Piper's Desiring God. It was great! The book is really thought-provoking, and it was a blessing to fellowship with friends like Nancy and Elissa (remember the name Elissa!). It also gave me a chance to try to prove my domesticity. How? Well, I took a dessert to the study every week. There were several guys in the study, and while it was not my reason for attending, I didn't mind helping any of them (ahem, Matt) along in learning that I like to cook (and might be a good cook for them). ;)

Our favorite "summer wind" (the name of the study group) moment happened when Matt arrived one Sunday after the evening service. He came into the room, took a couple cookies I made and brought, commented on how good they were (yesssss!), and then announced that he couldn't stay because he had a big test to study for. What?!?!? He just came for my COOKIES! He didn't care about ME at all!!!

Our second favorite memory of summer wind is when I arrived and there was a seat open between Matt and Elissa. I saw that as a great opportunity to get to chat with Matt without being too conspicuous--it could look like I just wanted a seat next to my friend, Elissa. And seeing as how MOST men can be a little slow on subtle hints, I figured he wouldn't read anything into it unless he wanted to. I sweetly approached the couch and asked, "Is this seat taken?" I got my seat. :) And Matt picked up on it.

But the kicker!! He asked ELISSA out!! I started to pick up on a vibe that he was gravitating toward her and backed my heart up again. Nevermind. Not me. I didn't know until after we started dating that the vibe I picked up on was real, and they had gone out to coffee. In God's plans, nothing further progressed between them. Later, Matt went on a camping trip with his small group and asked them, "What do you think about dating a girl who's taller than you?" (I am an inch or two taller than Matt). "Do you like her?" they asked. "Well, yeah." "Then ask her out." Can you see the tide turning?

Somewhere in the mix, I must write about one other big event. The college ministry has a big lunch at the church once a month. Free food draws students from miles around! One particular lunch was in the late summer/early fall. Matt came and said hi, and we began talking. He was going on a business trip to Denver soon, and I lived in Denver for 3 years. That got us talking, and time flew! By the time we were done talking, we looked up, and EVERYONE else was gone! I mean, there had been at least 100 people seated and eating lunch, and we were the ONLY two left when we were done talking. And we hadn't even noticed! It was SUCH a movie moment! Actually, we THOUGHT we were the only ones left. It turns out my Bible study leader was in and out cleaning up. In the elevator on the way to Bible study that night, Paige asked me about him. I told her it was nothing and that he was just really nice. She wasn't convinced and said, "I just want you to know I dated plenty of guys when I was in college who were shorter than I." subtle. :)

Okay, so Matt was interested in the new members' class at church. Since Mom works at the church, I offered to email him the info about signing up. I tried emailing it, and he says he didn't get it. The next week, I asked him to email me back if he got my email, so I would know if something was wrong with my email (and I thought it was a sneaky way to get him to email me). He did email back a response. I read ALL my other email first and saved his for last. I still remember being on instant messenger with Erin, opening the email, and reading,

"Becca,

Got it.

Matt"

I was floored! That was ALL??? Thankfully, email went a little better after that. ;) I dropped a hint that my birthday was coming. He emailed back and suggested we do lunch. I had liked this guy for TWO years. I didn't want to be disappointed if things were a total flop, so I picked the day AFTER my birthday. That way, if it was horrible, I wouldn't be sad on my birthday. :) We met up on campus and walked to McAlister's for lunch. I decided it was really a date when he offered to pay (I had never "dated" anyone, and I had only been on a handful of "dates" that were never labeled as such by the guy. NO dating experience and ambiguous, undefined, kinda leading-on types of encounters were my only experience. You can bet my heart was walled in titanium by the time poor Matt came around! But it was all for my good! Our high school pastor used to say, "There is the intent of God behind the content of life."). We talked a ton, about all the places I'd lived, school, family, travels, etc. I thought we were getting along well, but I had no idea what he was thinking. I was afraid I'd lost him for sure when I couldn't remember which floor of the parking garage my car was on when he walked me to my car. His parting words were, "That was fun. We should do it again sometime." It seemed pretty vague to me, and I thought, "I will never see you again."

Next weekend, the phone rings. Matt calls and asks me to play cards. The weekend after that, I still haven't heard from him by Friday night. "Oh well." WAIT! The phone rings!! But all he does is chat. He never asks me to do anything. Huh? THEN, Saturday morning he called and asked if I would spend the day with him in Gatlinburg and go to the aquarium (I had mentioned I wanted to go sometime in passing, not like "we should go together"). I said yes, but realizing he was on a grad student's budget, I dressed kinda casual and thought I might be able to save him some money and just walk some mountain trails instead. He showed up, meeting my father for the first time, in shiny black dress shoes, dress slacks, and a button down. I felt like his kid sister. I think we both wanted to run and change clothes the instant we saw each other. The aquarium is about 45 minutes away, but the time passed really quickly. We had fun at the aquarium and enjoyed walking around. On our way back, he suggested dinner together once we were back in Knoxville. I think he offered Olive Garden, but I told him he didn't need to spend that much. He picked Chili's instead, and we had spent the whole day together by the time we were finished.

He was preparing to go home to Rock Hill the next weekend for Thanksgiving. It was killing me that nothing was "defined." I had been burned by that mistake in the past, and I was scared. I wanted to do SOMETHING not too forward to show him I was interested if he was. I made a batch of sugar cookies and used Thanksgiving themed cookie cutters, then decorated them with frosting. While he was busy at the lab, I left them on his front porch, along with a note that I was praying for his studies to be fruitful and that he would have favor as he approaches exams, etc. Apparently that note (and the cookies... the way to a man's heart IS through his stomach) sealed the deal. He says he'd never felt so supported and cared for, especially by someone his own age. He says he praised God for sending him the helpmate he longer and prayed for, and that I was right there (literally, he lived about 2 minutes away) ready for the pursuing and sweetly showing I would welcome that.

He returned from a "miserable" Thanksgiving, having moped and told all his family about the girl back in Knoxville. The first opportunity he had upon returning, he asked me to go for a walk. On that walk (at 10:00 Monday night on December 1... BRRRR), he asked me for permission to pursue me. I said, "Yes, I would like that very much." :) He then asked my dad to coffee to "declare his intentions" and answer any of my dad's questions.

I couldn't believe what was happening! All this time, and not only was I actually dating someone, but it was the someone I had first noticed TWO years earlier! I was still very cautious, but I had one of those "gut"/God feelings this would be IT.

After a trip to Rock Hill to meet his parents in February, I pretty much knew. It was important to me to meet his family and see how he treated them. When we came back, I was ready to consider the "l" word, which I had told him I wouldn't say until I was ready to give my whole heart and KNEW that was the person I wanted to spend the rest of my life with. I always thought I would take awhile in a courtship to get to that point, but I told him in March, after we'd dated just over 4 months. He knew it much earlier and let me know, but patiently waited for my heart to catch up. :) He told me he didn't want to leave UT without me. :) And while he left for 3 months right before the wedding, he was preparing for me to join him here in Florida. :)

We started more seriously talking about marriage in the summer and first started looking at rings. In August (2004), I started my year-long teaching internship and he started his second year of grad school. On October 2, he proposed. :) I was grumpy and tired ALL day! He took me out to dinner at Olive Garden. Afterwards, we had dessert at his house. He asked me if I would rinse the dishes because he bought me something he wanted me to wear the next day. It was upstairs and he wanted to go get it. I suspected it was a ring, but he bought me a dress for my graduation, so I wasn't sure. I saw his reflection in the kitchen window and that he put a small box behind his back. I was done with the dishes, but I rewashed the last one to gather my thoughts. I slowly walked into the dining room. He set the box on the table and said he thought we could open it. I, brilliantly, replied, "Nuh uh!!!" Matt is rarely a man of few words, so I expect a big, long speech. Instead, all he could get out on bended knee was, "Rebecca Jennette Guilford, will you marry me?" I stood with my mouth gaping open and trying to cover it with my left hand (he needed that one, oops). Then I said yes. He put it on my finger, and I was just in shock! I finally asked him to stand up, because he was still on one knee!!!! We hurried home to show my parents. :) He had asked their permission, of course, back in JULY! He offered to tell them the exact date of the proposal when it got closer, but they said they didn't think they could act normal if they knew and didn't want to give it away.

We set a date for October 15. I felt like the year flew. Matt felt like it couldn't go fast enough. :) I finished my program in May, Matt accepted a job offer the beginning of June, defended his thesis the first week of July and moved to Florida right after! We were apart for 3 months, and that was really hard. But now we're together... for GOOD! :) Praise the Lord!

It is amazing to see how God wove everything together. And so many "one small things" could have changed everything! I almost didn't stay in Knoxville for college (had a deposit in and everything somewhere else), he almost didn't stay at UT for grad school (he got a call offering an internship in Indiana the DAY after he accepted his graduate assistant position at UT), he asked ELISSA (honestly, a SWEET, sweet friend :) ) out, I couldn't remember where I parked my OWN car... it goes on an on. And God has given us so many fun stories, from all the times the ball seemed to be rolling but stopped, to me suggesting--the week before he first asked me out-- (I thought sneakily) that he come as the Big Bad Wolf to a church costume party since he needed an idea and I was going at Little Red Riding Hood. He picked up on that "subtle hint" as well. :) And every day God reveals more in which He has fashioned us perfectly for each other. What a gift!

If you have made it this far, you are a TROOPER!! I guess I can't help but gush at this great and marvelous gift of Matt. :) To God be the glory!! Thanks for reading. :)

Love,
Becca