19 years ago today, we got engaged - Aahhhhhh!! I am sure many people thought that we were totally and utterly mad getting engaged!!You see, for those of you that dont know, Kristian lived in Denmark and I lived in Northern Ireland. We met at a conference in England. I fell for his smile, and the fact that he just seemed like a really nice guy. Off course my crazy friend Rhoda (and a pile of other crazy irish people) started keeping me going about him, and as if that wasnt bad enough they teased Kristian about me (and they didnt even know him!)They were forever trying to get us together, and because of that I was forever staying out of Kristians way!
On the last evening, my crazy friend Rhoda (yes - its the Rhoda that also blogs!) went to Kristian and gave him my address.(without me knowing!!) She told him to write to me, then come to Ireland and fall in love with me and marry me. (You have a lot to answer for Rhoda!!)
So when he got home from the conference he wrote me a letter. I was soooo surprised to get a letter from him. He confessed that he really wanted to talk to me at the conference, but didnt dare. So we started to write letters.
Kristian was better at speaking english than writing it, so he suggested we make tapes to each other (yeah, it was the good old days - we used tapes!). So we did. Through the tapes we started to get to know each other and I was starting to fall in love. ("Lucky" for me - he was feeling the same!) After 3½ months of making tapes Kristian invited me to Denmark. We just had to meet face to face. Looking back I cant believe I went. I was soooo nervous getting off that plane to meet him.
Well, we hit it off. He was soooo easy to talk to and we had the same sense of humour. It felt like I had known him forever. (Things were good!)
I had also been praying about all of this (cause the situation looked impossible - he lived in Denmark after all!) but God had shown me through different Bible verses that Kristian was the one for me.
24 hours after arriving in Denmark Kristian asked me to marry him. I said yes!! - then we thought, " this is crazy, maybe we should wait and really think about it!" We needed to be sure it really was what we both wanted. So we waited - 3 days!!!!! haha
Monday 23rd October Kristian went over to the CEF office to sleep. (I was staying in his wee house across the road.) What I didnt know was that when he got to the office he rang his cousin Jacob and had a chat.
Jacob had, at one time, worked in a jewellery shop and so he had some rings in a bank box. One of those rings Kristian really liked. He had always said if he married an english/american girl he would give her this ring. (In Denmark you dont give diamond rings for engagements. You buy a wedding ring and wear it on your left hand and then change it over to the right hand when you get married.) So Kristian rang Jacob to see if he could collect the ring from the bank box, so he could give it to me. Jacob had already been to the box that day and got the ring out! He had had a feeling that something like this would happen! (Wow) Then they prayed that as an extra confirmation that Kristian was doing the right thing, that the ring would fit me perfectly! If it didnt Kristian would wait and not marry me.
Tuesday 24th October Jacob came to dinner. I had been out shopping and when I got back to the office the boys were acting funny. Kristian said we should go over to his wee house and Jacob would come later. There he gave me the ring. I loved it and was babbling away a mile a minute about it fitting or not fitting and that if it didnt fit we could get it made to fit. Kristian was very quiet. I then tried it on and said "It fits perfectly! you´d think it had been made for me!" (I knew nothing about the prayer!)
At this Jacob came in. Kristian just said "It fits" and then the two of them went wild!! Jacob did handstands across the floor (hilarious!) Kristian and him were hopping around like two mad men!! Finally they let me in on the secret!
So that night I really did feel like Cinderella, only it wasnt the shoe that had to fit but the ring. Wonder what I would be doing now if the ring hadnt fitted and we didnt get married. (Now there´s an interesting thought?!)
Tonight we celebrated our engagement with the most delicious meal. We didnt want to go out to a restaurant, so we fed the kids first and then they disappeared to their rooms and Kristian and I had a lovely 3 course meal by candlelight.
4 comments:
I remember! All of it:-) I remember the bus trip when I walked up and down every bus to see which one he was on, and then getting on that bus and saying "Oh look Laura there are seats back here!" And you dying from embarrassment! I remember Kristian coming to say Goodbye on the Friday night, and you were nowhere to be seen, and I for some reason (God?!) just started to write out your address and give it to him, little did I know that he was desperate to get it, and wondered how, I saved him having to find it himself!
I even remember that rugby shirt!
I remember that you told your mum as you were leaving on the Friday morning to go and get the plane, that you were going to marry this man! I think she knew it herself too, even if she was a bit surprised.
For the record I never thought you were mad, it all seemed totally reasonable to me! (David McQuilkin did - which was why you got me to phone him - remember!)
I remember arriving in your house the Thursday after that conference and you saying to me "Rhoda, guess who I got a letter from?" As you bounded across the floor in sheer excitement, and I couldn't guess! Then you told me "Kristian, but I don't understand how did he get my address?" And I replied "Aahh really . . . " then you saw the look on my face and said "It was you, you gave it to him!!!!"
Oh Laura, I'm so happy for you, so happy that God brought you and Kristian together, and that you've got such a special marriage.
Yes I remember that you told me that you still 'fancied' him - isn't that great, after all these years! I remember you watching a video of him playing the sax, and saying to your kids "Hey kids, look at that really handsome man"
And I'm really happy that you share all this with us on the blog, and that I'm following your blog - it's certainly brought a smile to my morning.
Well done the kids for letting you have a romantic meal too:-)
Ahhhh Im nearly crying! (whats new there then I hear you say)!! What a lovely story, its funny, we all know the story already but reading it again makes it even more special. What a brill couple you are and both so perfect for each other.
Laura, I remember being at ATTIC and Lorraine and Christine kept saying things like "tea set, salt and pepper dish" etc... No-one knew what they were talking about and then they would smile at each other. Everyone knew they were keeping some sort of secret.
Then you came back from Denmark and no-one would believe you were engaged, we all thought it was another one of your crazy jokes.
However, a very romantic story indeed.
Oh Rhoda I remember that. I didnt realise that you had actually spied out what bus he was on and I remember I was dying of embrassement. (I was just trying to treat him the way I would treat another that I didnt fancy - cause then I would play along and not be embrassed...but it wasnt easy!)
I remember us also meeting his dad and him while walking around Canterbury....and not knowing what to say to him. Funny looking back, I always went brain dead and didnt know what to say when he was around. Also remember the day you went over and got seats beside him for lunch...and I got my dad to take a picture of him. I remember telling mum and dad about him and saying, "Now dad he doesnt know you are my dad, so you can take a picture of him for me." My dad did it too!!
That´s right Pauline, no-one believed me....they all thought i was joking about getting engaged...and I remember you all going with me into Mr Anderson to see his face when I asked him if he could marry us on the 1st September. I dont think he believed me either at first! haha
it´s fun looking back....
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