How I Met My Wife, Part Two and Final

We left off last week with me being despondent and lost in the throes of a broken heart, going to a blood drive, sitting next to Jenn McLean and asking her if she donated often.

January 18th, 2013 continued

"Yeah, yeah I do." she replied, giving me an odd look.  I then asked her about her major.

"Well, it was Geology..."

"Was?!" I responded, to which she explained that she was now studying Anthropology but still really enjoyed Geology (she eventually saw the light and switched back in a way, but that's a different story).  We started talking for a while and found out we had a ton in common, including a love for the outdoors, experience with choir and interest in science.  We were really hitting it off when Jenn got called to go donate.  Being a fantastic individual, however, she let me go first since I had a class starting at 4:00 and it was already about 3:30.  I went to donate, and she was called a short time later.

Unbeknownst to me, she was already wildly smitten by my charm (okay, not quite, but maybe a little) and was afraid that I would finish donating first and go off to class and she would never see me again.  So she decided to be in a big hurry and was desperate to beat me in donating blood.  When I was already on the chair and had begun to donate, she walked out of the screening booth towards another chair and yelled at me, "Race ya!"

She donated the fastest she had ever donated, way faster than me, but I had a head start so I finished first.  Not knowing of her fear that I would leave, I went to eat my snacks in some chairs by the exit, having no intention of leaving without talking to her again.  She finished, and by then my class was already half over, so I decided to skip it.  That was perhaps one of the best decisions I have ever made.  

We walked all over campus, talking about everything we could.  I even told her about Lisa and how I had been feeling horrible and was determined to get her back.  Amazingly enough, instead of being turned away by this she got really excited about it, and praised me for actually caring enough to try to make things work.  That might have been when my determination to get Lisa back wavered for the first time, because Jenn with two "n's" was amazing, and so much like me in so many ways.

January 19th - March 30th

Of course I got her number, of course I asked her on a date for the next day, and for the next two weeks we spent nearly every day seeing each other at least once.  Whenever we both had a break in classes we went to go see each other, mostly to just go talk in the hall.  This is the first picture we took together, the one I put as my phone background and started showing her to my friends, introducing her as my best friend Jenn (with two "n's").

Foolishly, this whole time I was still at least trying to convince myself that I was still going after Lisa.  I even made her a playlist to try and get her back, but now it seemed, oddly enough, that some of the songs were applying more to Jenn than to Lisa, especially the mushy ones.  And through this all, Jenn stood by me and supported me in trying to win back another girl!  Pretty soon, I gave up on Lisa--Jenn was much cooler anyway.  On February 3rd we started dating.

We fell in love very easily, since we are so similar in many many ways, especially in the most important things--we felt the same way about our loyalty to each other and our commitment to the Gospel and had the same bizarre sense of humor as well as similar interests.   Soon, I was in the Temple asking if I should marry Jenn.  Though I had asked this question before about Lisa and got what I thought was a positive answer, this time the answer hit with unmistakable force.  It was the strongest feeling of joy and hope and YES that I had ever received.  I was so overjoyed that there was  even a possibility that I could marry this incredible woman, the highest quality person I had ever known.

Turned out she had felt strongly, a little at a time that she should marry me too.  We discussed this before I ever officially proposed--in fact, when we decided we should get married we realized we needed to jump on the housing marked because apartments sell out very quickly in Provo, so we bought an apartment before we were ever engaged.  Since our friendship was founded on openness and honesty rather than surprise and secrets, I asked what kind of ring she wanted.  She didn't care, and for some reason I felt really good about it, so...I asked my parents to mail the ring I never thought I would use.

March 31st - August 21st, 2013

Our engagement is a story in itself, but basically I proposed on top of a mountain (Squaw Peak above Provo, Utah) and then we proceeded to go down the mountain the short way, straight down the side.  It was an intense journey, and by the time we came down we had to run to the jeweler's to get the ring resized.  So there we were, running into a pristine, spotless jewelry store caked in dirt.

On the hike to Squaw Peak where we got engaged.

It turns out the ring that I had gotten before even meeting Jenn had been the same type of ring that Jenn had wanted since she was little--a large sapphire with a few diamonds on the side.  This was just another evidence that this was all working out exactly how God had intended it to.

We finished school and then I went back to California to work and Jenn stayed in Utah.  Those were very difficult months, and deserve a post all to themselves, but finally they ended and I came up to Utah.  Jenn and I were sealed for time and all eternity in the Jordan River Temple on the 21st of August, 2013, and since then we have grown immensely in love and understanding of each other, always onward and upward (which is written on the front of my ring).

The Lesson

If someone had told me how happy I would be in one month the day Lisa broke up with me, I would have laughed.  One of the most difficult experiences I had ever had quickly led to the greatest and happiest.  God really does know what He is doing.  When bad things happen to us, we do not need to pound our fists and cry and ask "Why me?"  The answer to "why me" is that God knows you and loves you and He understands what is best for you far better than yourself or anyone else.

When my roommate laid his hands on my head 6 days before I met Jenn and promised that my sadness would soon be over, I believed that it came from the Lord, but I thought that "soon" could only mean many months from them.  I know that if we are trying to be the best person we will be, God will direct our steps and lead us to the place that will make us the most happy.  We do not know what He knows, and even when we think everything has gone horribly wrong, He is guiding us to unimaginable joy and blessings better than we could ever imagine.  Have faith in God, and trust Him--when things look hopeless, just keep moving forward, because your steps just may lead you to sit down next to the greatest blessing you could possibly have, much much greater than the one you missed.