[Read previous posts in this story: Part 1, Part 2, Part 3]

I started a fire in the kitchen.

That’s how my “engagement story” begins.

It was a Thursday night, and Jason came over for dinner, surprising me with a bouquet of flowers for no reason at all. As he arranged them in a vase, I worked on the meat for fajitas. Now, I’m not a great cook by any means, but whenever I cook dinner for someone, I try to fake it. Unfortunately, a sudden fire on the stove top completely blew my cover that night.

I don’t know what happened or why. All I know is that when I screamed out, “Fire!” and started trying to smother it with a lid, Jason just laughed.

“This is going to be a funny story someday,” he said, and I had no idea what he was talking about. All I knew is that there was a small fire in my kitchen, and the chitchat could wait.

Thankfully, the fire was quickly contained and dinner wasn’t (completely) ruined.

After just a few weeks of dating, we had settled into a nice relationship. We still hadn’t talked about anything definite, like where our relationship was going or anything like that, but I was still oh-so-peaceful about God inching us together slowly according to His timetable.

Any time we talked about the future at all, I took all of his comments completely at face value. I didn’t try to read into them. I didn’t try to analyze them. I didn’t wonder if he had an agenda or a hidden reason for asking certain questions. I just let our conversations rest in the moment and pushed all girly tendencies to the side. (Very un-Emily-like, to be sure! This was only after doing it the wrong way for years and definitely achieved by the grace of God!)

So when supper was over and he asked me to forget about the dirty dishes and leave them in the sink, I had no reason to wonder why he said that. My first tendency was to protest because I wanted them done, but for some reason, I thought, “Sure, why not. We don’t get to see each other much anyway, I probably shouldn’t waste the time we do have together standing up to my elbows in soap suds.”

We went into the living room and he said he wanted me to listen to something. He put a CD in my CD player and said that he had written me a song. I had heard other songs he’d written before, but never in person, and I’d never heard him sing before either.

So I sat on the couch, intrigued, and listened as he began singing along to the piano and cello track he had previously recorded.

The song was sweet and beautiful, and I remember thinking several things. 1) Yes, his voice is just as beautiful as others have told me it is. 2) I cannot believe he can write music and play the piano and cello so well! I am thoroughly impressed with his talent. 3) If he can be this romantic on a random Thursday night, I can’t imagine what he’d do on a “special” day!

Little did I know that this was indeed a special day. In fact, I remained clueless throughout the whole song and only caught on when he sang the last verse, “Will you marry me?”

I think I screamed! I know I jumped off the couch like a crazy woman. Somewhere in the chaos I noticed the ring. And I think I almost knocked him over when I kissed him.

But the important thing is that I said yes!

He told me later that he had been planning to propose that evening for awhile. He was leaving to go out of town the following week, so it would be the only chance he’d have until he got back, and he didn’t want to wait. But when he looked at the calendar, he noticed something interesting.

As of that night, we’d known each other for 40 days and 40 nights.

In the Bible, the number 40 usually refers to a period of testing or preparation. In Noah’s time, it rained for 40 days. Moses was on the mountain for 40 days when he received the Ten Commandments. The Israelites sent spies to explore the Promised Land for 40 days and then wandered in the wilderness for 40 years. And when Jesus was tempted in the wilderness, it was also for 40 days.

Jason and I had known each other for 40 days. Yes, it was a short amount of time, and by most people’s standards, not enough time to warrant an engagement. But when he realized that we’d known each other for exactly 40 days, it was like God was confirming what he already knew in his heart. That we’d made it through a significant period of preparation, and that we were ready for the Promised Land!

Q: I’d love to hear your engagement story! How did your husband propose?