8 Years in the Making

Our story began at App State where I was a cheerleader and he played football. When we first met, I thought he was cute but hated his outfit. I never thought twice about meeting him but boy did God have a plan.

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Against ALL odds, our relationship flourished.  Early on, I prayed often that God would take him out of my life if our relationship wasn’t “meant to be”.  I didn’t want to get attached to someone that wasn’t going to work out. I didn’t want to spend my time and energy in someone that wasn’t ultimately going to be my husband.

Upon graduation, I moved back home while he stayed in school at ASU. I prayed if our relationship were supposed to work, that He would guide us through the “long distance” thing.  That same year, I was accepted to graduate school and moved back to Boone.

The more time we spent together, the less we wanted to be away from each other.  I still questioned if this were the “real thing” and if we were meant to be together forever.  We had a lot of doubters- people that told us we shouldn’t be together or that we would never work.  But God continued to bless our relationship.

We struggled together.  Although Cali somehow managed to always get  top notch food, toys, clothes, and bones… we had to combine our money to buy enough groceries or get gas.  He worked as a farmer to make sure he had the money to pay his rent over the summer. I cleaned his apartment and did his laundry because he simply didn’t have time between football practice & classes.   We worked together because we wanted to, not because we had to.

Demetrius’ senior year, we realized his opportunity in the NFL was more attainable than ever.  I thought for sure he wouldn’t want to be with a regular ol’ chick like me when he could have ANY girl he wanted once he made it to the NFL.  I prayed that if I knew his heart the way I thought I did, our relationship would remain strong throughout the process.

He was drafted by the Jacksonville Jaguars and was set to move a few months later. It’s not often you get to see someone you love achieve their childhood dream before your eyes.  It was an amazing moment that I’ll never forget. But still, I was worried what that meant for us.  How are we going to be in a relationship from different states?

We decided that the only way I would move to Florida was if I found a job.  I had been job searching in North Carolina for over six months with no luck; I figured looking in Florida was worth a shot.  I prayed that if we were meant to be,  God would open a job for me in Jacksonville.

Two months later, I received an email for a Skype interview and was ultimately hired by a private school in Jacksonville.  I sold all my furniture, packed up my clothes and our fur baby, Cali, and never looked back. I questioned my decision and worried if we broke up, I was going to look dumb and have to hear from the “told you so” people.  Moving to Florida was (and still is) the biggest leap of faith I had ever taken and I prayed and hoped that it was the right move for me.

We found a condo in Jacksonville, bought an air mattress and a futon and used my TV from college.  We had nothing but our clothes and a dog. We eventually made a little home and spent every second of our time off with each other.  We continued to grow and we realized we had developed something really special. 3 more years passed by…

We found out I was pregnant (and no, it wasn’t a surprise).  We realized our greatest adventure was upon us and we were totally panicked and thrilled at the same time.  I knew without a doubt, he would be an incredible father and he’s lived up to that standard every single day.

I prayed that we could show our little girl a loving relationship and she would grow up in a home where she knows her Mom & Dad love each other.  In that moment, I finally realized God put us together for a reason. Those two little brown eyes looking back at us gave us a brand new purpose, intention, direction, and love for each other.  We already knew we wanted to be a family forever but she sealed the deal.

Long story short and lots of details omitted… we’re engaged!  After nearly 8 years of dating, praying, wishing, dreaming, hoping…. we’re finally engaged.  Yep, we’re the couple that everyone thought was going to date forever and never get married.  Demetrius proposed on Valentine’s Day and we’re finally engaged to be married (literally, it’s been 8 years).

The best part?  No one knows outside of our family.  That’s right, not even the Poms2Moms team is in on the secret… SURPRISE!

 And you know what?  We’re together for a reason.  All those years, I didn’t trust God; I simply prayed and hoped it worked.  At the time, I felt like I was blindly making decisions and hoping for the best.  Little did I know, I was living the plan he created for me before I was even born.

Our relationship is so “meant to be” that God had to pry open my stubborn eyeballs to see it.  So meant to be that God literally opened the door FOR me, shoved me through it, slammed it behind me and threw away the key.  Time and time again. Every single prayer I prayed for eight years was answered… and the answer was Demetrius Charles McCray.

More importantly… He’s gentle. He loves me for who I am.  In my worst moments, I know he’s going to be by my side.  How do I know? Because he’s proven it to me over and over again.  He would do anything for me and for our family. You know that one person you can’t wait to call and share good news with?  Or that person that takes something you’ve been anxious about and totally frees you from it? That’s him.

He’s my person. The man God created for me.

Have you been waiting on an engagement for what feels like forever? I’d love to hear your story!