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Hopeful Story, January 4, 2015

  Dylan's friends and family came to Hope Fellowship on Saturday, Dec. 27, expecting to hear him propose to his girlfriend, Jessica. After socializing for half an hour, the hundred-plus guests were shushed into silence as Dylan led Jessica, who was blindfolded, to the centre of the stage. Dylan dropped to his knees and pulled out a ring box. Jessica took off her blindfold. We held our collective breath as Dylan took Jessica’s hand and … led her off the stage without saying a word.
  Suddenly a video appeared on both screens and, over opening scenes of a groom dressing for a wedding ceremony, we heard Dylan announce, “I knew I wanted to marry her, so I did.” When? Three weeks earlier, on December 4. The video continued with wonderful scenes of Dylan and Jessica walking down the decorated aisle of a church in Columbus, and heartwarming close-ups of their beautiful flower girl, Brooklyn, Jessica’s daughter.
  The guests gasped and then broke into sustained applause as they realized that they had not been invited to a wedding proposal but a wedding reveal. When the video concluded, Dylan and Jessica apologized for their sweet deception and asked everyone to understand that this is how they wanted to get married – in a private ceremony with only their parents and siblings present. The guests responded with more applause and soon there was a receiving line of well-wishers.
  “Did you know?” Marja asked me. “Since November,” I said, chuckling. “But aren’t you glad that I kept this from you so that you could also be surprised tonight?” She laughed and said, “Absolutely. And now I finally understand why you insisted on keeping December 27 free.”
  For some, the news of their secret nuptial was a lot to process. It was almost an elopement, after all. But for me it was happy news from a delightful couple that married their way while keeping God at the centre of it all.
  Well done, Mr. and Mrs. H! And congratulations.
- Pastor Peter

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