I’ll be honest, I may have practiced how I’d respond when and if the day came when some wonderful gentleman proposed to me. I may have practiced a lot. I’d try out different lines as I stood in front of my mirror, dreaming of some fairytale proposal. If you can imagine a response, I probably acted it out, trying to figure out which one I liked best, which one made the most sense.
I’d cry. I’d wave my hands in front of my face like Sandra Bullock made fun of the beauty contestants in Miss Congeniality.
I’d jump up and down.
I’d say “YES!!!!”
I’d pause for dramatic effect and make the guy sweat it out before giving a cool and collected “Sure.”
After plenty of trial runs and way too many girly movies, I’d decided on exactly what I would say. If you know me, you probably know how much I love Pride & Prejudice, the Keira Knightley version (go ahead, gasp). I’d watched it so many times that by time I actually read the book, it was a let down. Good job, Hollywood. In any event, when Mr. Bingley proposes to Jane in the movie, she excitedly but quietly, while holding back tears of joy says, “Yes, a thousand times yes!”
When the day came and Anthony proposed, my response, naturally, was not at all what I practiced. Instead of my cool, calm, and excitedly collected, slightly teary, wispy response, I somehow muttered out “Of course!” in that quiet adoration chapel. There were no tears to speak of (they came aplenty later, trust me), only joy, and smiles abounding. It wasn’t at all like the movies I watched or the response I’d rehearsed more times than I could count. But you know what? That’s the way it should be.
Life isn’t like the movies, which is why I’ve loved that song by The Avett Brothers for so long. Love isn’t like the movies. This fairytale I’m living is real, complete with struggles, strife, trials, joy, happy and frustrated tears, and more love than a mere two hour film can capture. So what if I don’t have my own make-up crew and brilliant writers scripting my life, I’ve got the Author of the Universe writing my love story. What could be better than that?
If life isn’t like the movies, or if your life isn’t turning out exactly how you planned, what is the big deal? I planned on being married by the time I was 23 and having kids by the age I am now. I never planned on writing a book, starting a blog, or having the job I have now. I dreamed of marrying Anthony, but I never thought it would be a reality. Heck, I figured I’d mess it all up on the first date. So life isn’t like the movies, big deal. Life is better. Love is better. It may be messy, but we have a God who became Man, who entered into our mess so that our story would be better than we could ever write on our own.
