"I Sure Do!"

That was Shawn's answer nine years ago when Pastor Ronnie Starr asked Shawn if he'd take me to be his wife...such sweet words to my ears. After dating all through high school and a little bit in college, Shawn proposed to me on November 21, 1999, and we married nine years ago, January 8, 2000. That's right, we had a very short engagement but were two people who knew exactly what we wanted. I was nineteen and Shawn was twenty years old. Our family would say, but you're "Just Kids," and they were definitely right. I remember when we went through premarital counseling our pastor told us that our love would grow for each other with each year that passed. I never imagined that I could love Shawn more than I did all those years ago. But, Pastor Starr was right, our love grows for each other everyday, even though we are not always aware of it.

I will never forget the day I received the strangest letter in the mail. It was from a company called Great Treasures. In a nutshell, they were a company that sent people to various places, on your own dollar, but if you went on the adventure, you would get to find out what the greatest treasure was. The letter told me a little bit about the company purpose, their background, etc. Most importantly it told me that I could only take one person on the adventure with me-someone that I could trust with anything. After reading it I laughed and assumed this letter was a huge scam. I actually threw it away. All I could think of was spending all this money (which wasn't much for a college kid), and being ripped off. Shawn and I were living two hours apart from each other at the time, and I remember calling him and telling him about this stupid letter I received in the mail. To my surprise, he thought we should give it a shot, after all at least after spending the money we would have a great evening together. I still had my reservations and remained skeptical, but had good faith in Shawn's persuasion. I was told in the first letter that I would receive a second letter telling me where to go, and it warned me that if I did not go on this journey, that someone else would get to find the greatest treasure.

A couple of weeks later I received the second letter. It told me and my friend to travel to the Olive Garden in Grapevine, and that we would be receiving a letter from our waitress to learn our next destination. We had a lovely dinner at my favorite Italian restaurant, and like the second letter said; our waitress handed us our third letter. I was starting to get excited! Money, cars, boats, etc, were amongst the many things I thought I would win as greatest treasures. Funny how my definition of a treasure has changed since then.

I opened up the third letter and we were told to go to the Marriott Hotel in Irving. This is where the Dallas Cowboys stay when they have home games. The confirmation number was listed on the bottom of the letter. I was freaking out about staying at a hotel with Shawn, I mean, my pastor dad would throw a fit if he knew, and my family would be very disappointed in me. I bargained with myself saying that I would tell them about this big adventure and they would eventually forgive me. I mean, they would want me to find the greatest treasure, right?

We checked in and they handed me another letter saying that they would have another clue/letter waiting for me at the front desk first thing in the morning. Nervously, we approached our hotel room with two queen beds, one for me and one for Shawn. I remember just talking to him for a little while and then falling asleep. The faster I fell asleep, the faster I would get my new car, or, whatever! The next morning seemed like an eternity, but finally came. We ordered in room service for breakfast (it was hard for me not to rush eating), we got ready, and headed downstairs. With a smile, the clerk handed me my next letter. She was the same lady who checked us in the previous night and was still discombobulated about this company that led me to their hotel. "I've never heard of this company," she said. I strolled away from the desk and started opening the letter with Shawn hanging over my shoulder. The letter instructed me to go back up to my room and I would find my final letter slipped under the door.

Shawn and I ran like we were in a race up to our room. As promised, the letter was laying on the floor, and I quickly opened it with excitement. Shawn was knelt down beside me as my legs draped over the end of my bed. It read, "Now Lisa, turn to Shawn and give him your left hand to receive the GREATEST TREASURE IN THE WORLD!!!" Shawn was down on one knee and asked me to marry him. Obviously, I said, YES!!! The greatest part about the proposal is that I had NO CLUE that this was coming...totally surprised! He made up the company, and arranged all the people to "work with him" on the little details. I didn't have to ask for forgiveness from my parents, because, they were in on it, too! So, there you have it, the magical and innovative proposal.Here we are on one of our many monthly date nights this past year. We have so much to be thankful for and hope to continue to glorify the Lord with our relationship. Ecclesiastes 4:12 says, A chord of three strands is not easily broken-Shawn-God-Lisa.

We have a special evening planned for our anniversary tomorrow evening. I'll post pictures soon!! Ten years...here we come!