By Jeff & Kiera Rich – KRich13@bellsouth.net
Two years ago tomorrow, I had a mountain top experience. Literally. I wasn’t terribly thrilled when Jeff suggested that we wake up before dawn and go hiking. But it was Good Friday and he wanted to watch the sun rise and he looked at me with puppy-dog eyes and actual whimpering, if I remember correctly. So I gave in and I went — bad attitude and all. Looking back, it was one of the best decisions I’ve ever made in my life. Up on that mountain, as the sun rose in the sky on Good Friday, Jeff asked me to become his wife. What an adventure we had getting to that point though!
In writing the story of our engagement, I thought it only fair that Jeff was given a chance for rebuttal. He was happy to do so! Oddly…he was a little too happy!
Kiera’s Side of the Story…
Our engagement almost started with a fight. On April 13, Jeffrey took me to Highlands, North Carolina. It is a beautiful place in the Appalachian Mountains. After arriving we did some hiking and got settled into our hotel rooms. After lunch and a nap, we went out to hike some more. Only this time, Jeffrey was definitely a man with a mission. We were trying to find a place called Slippery Rock. According to our guide information, it was a rocky outcropping on top of a mountain. It faced east so you could see the sun rise. That part of the guide was absolutely correct. The directions to it? Not so correct. We searched for Slippery Rock (We later renamed it ‘Elusive Rock’ for good reason) for nearly three hours. After many arduous hikes that led basically nowhere, I was extremely frustrated — especially when Jeffrey told me to make sure I watched where I was putting my feet because we were in rattlesnake country! Have I ever mentioned how much I hate snakes?
One trail took us over a stream. Jeffrey, being the gentleman that he is, broke apart a tree limb so I would have something to step on. He failed to realize that his legs are a bit longer than mine and the placement of his “steps” was wildly out of line with the distance of my own stride. After one step nearly put me on my behind, I abandoned his “plan” and went at it myself.
“I made steps for you,” he stated quietly.
“I don’t like your steps!” I stated not so quietly. “There is a line between determined and crazy and you’re flirting with it!” Romantic, aren’t I?
Jeff’s Side of the Story…
I was getting more and more worried, because Slippery Rock was more than just the casual sightseeing trek that Kiera thought it was. I was actually checking out the place I planned to propose to her the next morning. Or trying to, at least. Which meant that I absolutely had to find it that day, or I’d be faced with resuming the search before daybreak with a very angry girlfriend, or resorting to Plan “B” for the proposal. Except there was no Plan “B”.
FINALLY, we thought we found the right trail but Kiera just did not have the will or the patience for yet another hike. So I went up alone while Kiera stayed in the jeep. The sight at the top of the trail took my breath away. It was perfect. I headed back down to Kiera with a plan. “That was it and it’s beautiful,” I told her. “Do you want to go back up?’ Kiera shot me one of those looks and readily agreed when I suggested “Maybe we could see it tomorrow?”
The next morning (Good Friday), we were up before dawn driving toward the base of Slippery Rock. Kiera was less than enthusiastic about my insistence that we get up for the sunrise. In fact, she was pretty convinced by this time that I’d lost my mind!
More of Kiera’s side of the story…
Jeff did wake me up early and we did set off for Slippery Rock in the dark. The road to Slippery Rock could be described easily as one of those “throw up” rides at Disneyland. It twisted and turned and went up and down and sideways. I hadn’t thought anything could be worse than the Georgia/North Carolina mountain highway that had brought us to Highlands. I was very wrong.
So on Friday – even with Dramamine – the road back up to Slippery Rock was far from fun. Jeff really made it enjoyable by ripping through the predawn darkness at speeds that would have thrilled even the most lethargic of state troopers. I held on tight and tried not to say anything. Although, I think I did ask at one point if he was trying to kill me. On arrival at the base of Slippery Rock, we got out of the jeep. I tried to find my land legs while Jeff began to sprint up the mountain. “What about your Bible?” I asked mid-climb.
”Thank you!” Jeff said as he sprinted down the mountain. He got his Bible and returned. Once at the top of Slippery Rock, I had breakfast with the Energizer Bunny. Jeff was up and down so many times that I honestly lost count and like Evel Knievel, he seemed to be drawn to the very edge of the mountain. This made me EXTREMELY nervous. Did I say, “Extremely”? After pondering death via free-fall, mountain tumble, Jeff would come back, sit down, sigh and stand back up again before repeating the entire process. By the time the sun was fully up, I was absolutely convinced that one of us was crazy. AND IT WASN’T ME!
Back to Jeff side of the story…
Finally we arrived at Slippery Rock and made the short (but steep) hike to the top of the mountain, where we had a light breakfast and waited for the sun to rise. It was definitely a beautiful place, and I was glad that we had managed to find it, and to get to it before the sun rose. Except there never was exactly what you commonly know as a sunrise. The clouds obscured the horizon in places. I kept hoping it was just getting lighter and we’d still see the sun break over the horizon, but it never happened. Finally it was fully daylight but I still hadn’t seen the sun behind the clouds. However, I couldn’t postpone it any longer so I got on with the plan. I pulled out my Bible and informed Kiera that I wanted to do a kind of Sunrise Service for Good Friday, which she thought was very cool. I then proceeded to read a passage which had nothing much to do with Easter, but everything to do with my love for Kiera. As I read 1st Corinthians Chapter 13 to her, I was having a little trouble reading through the tears, but I made it. And when I finished, I pulled the ring out of my pocket, turned to Kiera and asked her to marry me. She pretty much knew I was going to propose at some point during her visit to Atlanta, but all the indications were pointing to Easter Sunday, (a big THANK YOU to my co-conspirators!!) and she was totally shocked. By this time, she was crying too! I was hoping they were tears of joy.
Thankfully, it took her less than a second to recover, say “Yes!”, and make me the happiest man alive!
KIera’s Story…
After the pseudo-sunrise and the unexpected proposal, we hiked back down the mountain and went back to the hotel. For the rest of the day, I fought the urge to stop complete strangers on the street to show them my ring and tell them that I had been proposed to on Slippery Rock.
It was one of my best days.
During the rest of my time in Atlanta, Jeff and I set a wedding date, talked about a moving time line for me and began to set into motion the plan to begin our life together. There were obstacles but in my post-proposal euphoria, I didn’t really notice them. I saw nothing but sunshine and rainbows. I walked around with little hearts in my eyes. I was not grounded in reality one little bit.
And yet, God was still working. He was solving problems before we ever had a chance to lose sleep over them. Before I left Atlanta after my visit, a family from Jeff’s church offered to let me stay with them from August, when I was planning to arrive in Atlanta to stay, until the wedding in mid-October. I am still so thankful for that family that took me in, loved on me, and gave me my first “Atlanta” friends. What an amazing blessing they were to us.
It wasn’t until I was back home in Nebraska with my beautiful engagement ring making a fresh indention on my finger that the ugliness of reality finally set in. It was toward the end of April by that time, and I would be moving at the end of July. In the mean time, I had a wedding to plan, a mammoth garage sale to orchestrate, a move to prepare for, a fine arts camp to run, elderly cats to find homes for, a trip to Colorado to make so Jeff could meet my family, and a whole lot people to say “good-bye” to. And oh yeah, I still had to sleep, eat, bathe, clean the litter pan, workout so I could fit into my wedding dress, and all of those other “everyday life” kind of things.
My reaction to this impressive “To-do” list? I cried. Hard. Like a deer caught in the headlights, I was too terrified to move. I was so completely overwhelmed with my life that I didn’t even know where to begin.
And then things began to happen. My aunt called and said she would come help me pack and prepare for the garage sale. She stayed with me for a week and we got an amazing amount of work done. Three weeks later, she and a friend made the 425 mile trip back to Nebraska to help me run the garage sale. They both sat out in 100 degree heat for two days and helped me sell 90% of what I owned. (Jeff may dispute this number as he is the one who packed the moving truck. ALL DAY!) Family loyalty is one thing but my aunt went so far above and beyond the call of duty, that I am still stunned by all she did.
My garage sale profits were beyond my greatest estimate, alleviating much concern over our moving and wedding finances.
At first the cost for our rental truck was far more than we had budgeted. But at the last minute, we were able to switch companies and use our AAA discount, cutting the cost in half. It was still expensive but do-able.
I bought the first wedding dress I looked at. Even though I tried on several others, there was no question that I’d found the perfect dress right away.
Every obstacle – whether financial, logistical, or something else entirely — every problem just melted away. Sometimes it was things that I had prayed about, crying out to God in the dark of the night when I couldn’t sleep. I didn’t sleep a lot in those months. But more often than not, it was things I hadn’t even thought about yet.
I’m glad we have pictures of our wedding and reception and all that our amazing night entailed. Sometimes it still feels like something I conjured in my childhood — back when I was deciding if I wanted to be a princess or a telephone operator when I grew up – I’m glad to have proof, that I can actually look at and hold, showing me that the most incredible night of my life, and the journey to get there, did exist.
Looking back on those 6 months now, it’s still hard for me to believe all that happened. Some may argue with me and say God doesn’t move like that in people’s lives…it was all coincidence. But I know God moved. He moved mountains as if they were nothing more than a few grains of sand. In my mind, I pictured Him as an incredibly proud and loving Father of the Bride. And Jeff has told me many times that he felt God’s presence more strongly during our wedding ceremony than ever before in his life.
As I stood with Jeff on our wedding night, and felt him slip the ring on my finger, tears filled my eyes. I just couldn’t imagine that anyone could love me enough to want to spent the rest of his life with me.
And after the incredible journey to get to that night, tears continue to fill my eyes knowing that God, who created the universe, could love me enough remove my obstacles, solve my problems, and fulfill my dreams. It’s hard to believe that someone could love me that much.
God still moves. It may not be every day, but he moves in every life. It isn’t always in big and mighty ways. But as sure as I take every breath, God still moves and He’s still at work in my life — even when I’m not aware of it. He still moves.
