Lynn:
So much of the fun and adventure of life with Mike Lwin is that I’ll never know what to expect next … predictable? NEVER!
Some might say that our relationship is uncommon … and maybe even a little odd or that we do things backward. We’d like to think of our style as unique and out-of-the-box!
In keeping with our out-of-the-box style, several months ago Mike casually brought up the engagement topic. He suggestively asked if I thought that an engagement was really just a formality that we should have some fun with. Maybe it would be kind of fun to be engaged for just one day! This way when people in the future ask us how long we were engaged – we could say, “Just one day!”
Our conversations led us to enter a season of courtship where we had a deeper understanding and mutual agreement with regards to Christ’s confirmation of our marriage. At the same time, being the ‘ready to roll’ type, I just couldn’t help but start on the wedding and the planning process although Mike had not formally proposed!
Mike had asked me about my ring one Sunday at lunch – did I want to be surprised or did I just want what I want? Yup – I wanted what I wanted! Within the week, I met with a designer from our church who would help me to design the ring of my dreams! My anticipation was that in just one week I would see the wax version of my ring that would allow me to give my approval for the official casting.
Well the first week came and went. Then a second week came and went. With each week, my eagerness to see the ring grew more and more. And by week three, I was calling every day ... “Is it done yet?” “How ‘bout now?” “Today … can I see it today?” Every phone call the designer had an excuse and valid reason – and I continued to wait!Mike:
And with every phone call Lynn made to the jeweler, they were immediately on the phone to me, “You really need to hurry up and do something! Get her off our back – she’s calling every day and we can’t keep lying for you!”
You see, the day after Lynn met with the ring designer I called up and said, “You are no longer working with Lynn, you are working with me!” Fortunately our ring designer attends our church, so it was easier for me to intercept the process. The ring indeed was done on time and it really was beautiful. Once it was completed, it was now my turn to try to discern God’s timing for the official proposal.
Lynn:
Sunday, April 17 was a Sunday like any other. We had talked briefly early that morning and had made a plan to spend the afternoon eating lunch and taking photos of our new home under construction and then have dinner with one of the church’s mission teams.Mike:
What Lynn thought was going to be an ordinary Sunday was actually the culmination of many days of planning and tons of prayer!
By design, I’m not an overly ‘romantic’ type so coming up with just the right proposal idea was really a lot of effort. Well, because I was able to sell my former home for such a premium due to the rising prices of the Hawaii real estate market, I was able to start construction on a new first home for Lynn and me. In my prayers for a proposal idea, I kept coming back to a Bible verse from Psalm 127:1 that says, “Unless the Lord builds the house, the builders labor in vain.” I finally realized that the Lord was sharing with me to propose in our new home that was under construction to not only dedicate the home to the Lord’s work, but to symbolize our desire to allow the Lord absolute authority to build the marriage that would unfold in our new home!
So with plans confirmed in my heart, I quickly recruited the help of several awesome friends to help with decorating, videography, photography and food. So on that weekend, when I was speaking at all four of our weekend services at New Hope Leeward, I could barely focus knowing what was in store at 1:45pm Sunday afternoon! What’s funny is that I unintentionally spilled the beans a little during my message….just pick up a copy of that message entitled “Hearing God’s Plans” from April 17th and see if you can identify it!
It’s never easy to keep a complete secret when it comes to a marriage proposal – especially when so many people are involved in helping to make it all come together. But, what is amazing is that Lynn had absolutely no clue (could it be that she’s got blonde under that red?)…Lynn:
Once the Sunday services were over, I briefly caught Mike in the foyer while he was greeting the awesome people in our church as they were exiting. We confirmed our original plan to meet at our new house to check construction progress. He told me that it would take about forty-five minutes to wrap up before he could leave the building. Thus, while he was wrapping up, I went to do some errands and pick up some food so we could have lunch at the new house.
Mike:
As soon as Lynn got in her car, I ran (literally - just ask Keni Sumpter who I almost knocked over) out the back door to rush up to the new house. It was 1 pm and everything was right on schedule. Already a huge team of friends had been at the new house for two hours decorating – only the framing was done on the house so it needed a lot of décor help! By 1:30pm, the decorating was done, Lynn’s hanai family had arrived and the gourmet lunch was laid out. Right after I called Lynn at about 1:40 pm to let her know I was already at the house, all of the great helping hands, friends and family gathered together to pray before finding a hiding spot in the house (with no walls yet) to await her arrival…
Lynn:
When Mike called I was on the other line so was unable to pick up. But had I picked up, I’m sure I would have heard in his voice that something was up! As it was, I really had no idea what was about to happen. I pulled up to the new house at about 1:45pm and as I walked up to the house carrying all the lunch I had picked up, I could hear music playing. It wasn’t the normal music you hear at a construction site; in fact, it sounded really beautiful and romantic! The very moment I saw Mike standing in the doorway, I broke down in tears – at that point, I wasn’t sure why I was crying, but I was simply overwhelmed and I KNEW this was something special ….
The rest is for you to watch!
