For quite a few months now I’ve wanted to tell you all a story.
But I couldn’t, because it wasn’t my story to tell (though it affected me greatly).
But now the story has been told. And so I will share it with you all!
That’s right; my baby is getting married!
She and David actually got engaged back in July, but he took her completely by surprise that day. And she hadn’t really “introduced” David much on her YouTube channel, so she didn’t want to go public with the engagement until people had seen him a little bit more, or else it may seem strange. (Such is the world when your ministry is online).
So I couldn’t share it with you! I did hint that last week I was off somewhere doing something important, and so I ran a quick post. What I didn’t tell you was that we all went wedding dress shopping (and got a fabulous dress!)
The wedding is in February, almost a year to the day that they started dating.
Let me tell you a little bit about David and Katie. David is Rebecca’s age; he and Rebecca have been friends since junior high. David has always known who Katie was, of course, but she was off limits because she was “Becca’s little sister”. David was a big part of everything Rebecca went through as a teen. When a guy broke her heart, David volunteered to punch him for her (she politely declined). Rebecca’s diaries are full of David, and when Katie and David started dating, she looked back and read them and said, “Even back then I was talking about him as my brother! I’m just so glad I never had a crush on him!”
David and Rebecca both drifted away from their youth group circle after high school, but they remained close to each other, and David was one of the few from her teenage years who was invited to her wedding. He actually gave the first speech when the open mic started, and talked about how Rebecca had always been his sister. So looking back, it’s really cool how he’s always been there.
For Katie, he was far more there when she was about 11-15. She had the hugest crush on him (though she never really told me much at the time). After that she moved on, and David kind of went off the rails a bit (he alludes to that at the end of the video). Katie would never be interested in someone who wasn’t totally sold out for Jesus, so when David did start to notice her, she said no.
He relentlessly pursued her anyway, at the same time as he was pursuing Jesus again, and he and Katie became quite good friends. He wanted it to be more; she kept turning him down. Until, 2 1/2 years after he’d started asking, she finally said yes.
That was last February. They were engaged in July.
Some would say it’s fast, but when they started dating they already knew each other so well. And I’m not a huge believer in long engagements, if you already know each other.
They’ve got some great pre-marital counselling, so I’m happy. David is a medic in the military, and could easily be deployed at the end of 2018, so she has a huge adjustment to make. And she’s a little worried about it. But she can already see how God may be opening up doors for her for ministry there.
It’s interesting, because we hardly knew Connor, Rebecca’s husband, when they began dating because she had met him at school. With David, we know everything–including his family–really well. In some ways that’s good; in other ways it makes it much easier to interfere. In fact, a few years ago at church David used to call Keith and me “Mom” and “Dad”; Keith has been his mentor for a while and we’ve always kind of encouraged him. I pulled back a ton when Katie kept turning him down because I wanted him to get the message; but now we’re all good again.
David and Katie are very different. But they work together. So this will be a fun year as we gear up for her wedding! I’m not doing as many big speaking tours this year to get ready for it, and I’m really looking forward to a big family day.
My baby is getting married! Wow. And now I can tell you. 🙂
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this is so great! congratulations!!!
Yeah, he’s pretty neat. 🙂
What a beautiful story! Big congratulations to all of you!!
Thank you! 🙂
Congrats to you guys! Yay!
Thank you!
Congratulations Keith & Sheila. Congratulations David & Katie. I need to have a word with David. Dude – So you’re marrying the woman of your dreams and you both are in love with Jesus. Your Father In-Law is your mentor and your Mother In- Law is a Christian Marriage Sex blogger. At my wedding my cousin got on the video camera and said to me. “Phil I dont know where you found her but BUDDY YOU STEPPED IN IT! You didn’t just step in it, you didnt just find a diamond in the ruff. YOU STRUCK GOLD. Dive in man! Head first. Way to go. Cool story. Very Cool God story. Best wishes.
Ha! I’ll forward your comment to him. :). His parents are great, too. (I just need to try to not be overbearing. That’s hard!)
They both seem very nice and well suited to each other. May they have nothing but good things and the best of good fortune in their new life together! 🙂
Such exciting news!! I watch Katie’s videos and I honestly feel the same happiness for her as I have for my own close friends. My husband (also a David!) and I got married 9 and a half months after our first date (we got engaged after 4), and initially I worried about what people would think of us for having such a short engagement. But everyone who knows us was so supportive. And I think the same is probably true for Katie and David- when God blesses a relationship, He usually makes it pretty clear to everyone. 🙂 Congratulations to your family!
Aww, this is sweet! I hope they will be very happy together!
My husband is a David too! We got met and started dating in August (though he’d known [of] me for a couple years), got engaged in February, and got married in August. So it was quick for us too, but we’re in our early 30s. His family all lives in our area, and I made sure my family had met him by Thanksgiving so they could give unbiased feedback. We’ve now been married for a little over a year, and I wouldn’t change it for the world.
Congratulations on your growing family!
Oh!! So excited for your whole family – what a great story and a beautiful beginning for Katie and David. Congratulations to them AND to you! ❤️
Wooooowww!Congrats Katie and David!And congrats Shiela and Kieth!I am a new subscriber to your blog Shiela and just discovered it about a month now.I have learnt so much from your posts and I bless God for your honest sharing especially as a Christian married lady.I am a Christian and married too from Nigeria.
Katie and David ,have a blessed wedding and a wonderful marriage after in Jesus name.Peace,joy and fun all the way!
Thanks so much, Elizabeth! And it’s SO great to have so many readers from Nigeria! Lagos is my #1 city for this blog. I love that!
So happy for Katie and David and for the whole family!! Congratulations! And I think it’s so neat, the way they did it – the “slow intro” to the internet world (David).
1. That is just wonderful – and I agree, once you know each other well a short engagement makes sense.
2. My oldest just got his learner’s permit for driving. They grow up whether we think we’re ready or not, don’t they?
3. There seem to be a bunch of Emily’s commenting on here these days, which is great, but also confusing. Because I look at the comments and there’s already one from Emily but it wasn’t me. So I’ll be SuperEmily from now on. 🙂
Sure thing, SuperEmily! 🙂
This is wonderful news!!! Cute story too!! Strange but wonderful the way things work out. Congrats to the whole fam.
Big Congrats to the growing family. I am so happy for you. May Jesus continue to be the Author of your marriages. Amen.
I am just so happy for Katie and David and both of your families! Such an exciting, precious, joyful time! xo
Wow, great news and I’m not sure how you kept the secret so long! Congrats to your family!