We've talked about a LOT... & I bet it's hard to believe there's even MORE to share... but that's the case! I pray that as we continue to walk down memory lane, you rejoice in this love story & delight in the goodness of our Heavenly Father! :)
The night after Brandon & I met, it didn't take him long to ask my Dad for permission to enter into a courtship relationship.... one day to be precise. I met Brandon on Friday, July 8th, & by Sunday, July 10th, he'd already spoken with my Dad & gotten permission to ask me to begin courting him. Naturally, as I sat on my couch looking at an overwhelmingly handsome man with such a precious heart, I was over joyed at the thought that HE wanted to be with ME! God sure had done something amazing by bringing us together, if only I'd known what all was yet in store! I began to cry after hearing Brandon say "I've never been on this path before, as you've already heard me mention... but I couldn't dream of sharing the journey with anyone else. I want to be your best friend and I want you to be mine. Taylor, would you do me the honor of giving me your hand and heart in courtship?". If you will, imagine hearing someone say those words to you...would you not be drawn to an emotional state as well?! After crying for a bit, I finally managed to say "Yes" and was jolted into an array of feelings I'd never felt before! Many of you are probably thinking "They only knew each other (officially) for ONE DAY before courting???!" Well... since it was such an abrupt and sudden ordeal, we wanted to be sure that we took everything to the Lord in prayer and got to know each other a little more before entering into anything official. The four following days entailed Brandon and I talking on the phone more and spending LOTS of time in prayer... by the time July 14th rolled around, Brandon and I were still at complete peace with things and knew that God truly had brought us together.
July 14th was the day my life began to drastically change. Here I was, a young lady who had never been in a relationship before, a young lady who had (for so many years) waited on God to provide her "Prince Charming" in HIS due time. My family and I, in addition to Brandon's family and the Sorah's went to the Blackburn's home for a Courtship Covenant Ceremony. I didn't know what to expect, this was all new territory and while I was slightly nervous...I was blissfully happy! When I walked into their living room I was taken back by what I saw. The fireplace was beautifully decorated and overflowing with flowers, the courtship covenant was centered in the middle surrounded by candles and directly over the fireplace a sign hung which read "Tay-Tay said yes to Blackbird!".
<<<<Let me rewind for a moment>>>>
On June 14th my Mom, sisters and the Sorah family went to a flag flying ceremony for CAP...That was the night they first laid eyes on Brandon. Upon finding out his name, my Mom and Mrs. Sorah teased on the way home about the young man and how "you never know what God's doing!"... That upcoming Wednesday I walked into the children's room at RFF and said hello to my sweet Jane Sorah. The moment she saw me her eyes grew wide and she began jumping around yelling "Tay-Tay! You've gots to say yes to Blackbird! You've gots to say yes to Blackbird!" I was very confused and went to the nursery to ask my Mom and Mrs. Sorah what in the world she was talking about. That's when it dawned on us...Little Miss Jane (5 years old) had overheard my Mom and Mrs. Sorah talking about BlackBURN- she misunderstood and thought they were saying BlackBIRD... but she got one thing right...I needed to say YES if the young man came calling. Ha! From then on out, Blackbird became Brandon's nickname. Oh, from the mouth of Babes....Janie- what wisdom you possess.)
Now, back to the story.
Mr. Blackburn sat us down before hand and shared the outline for the evening. I thought the night was going to be a simple ordeal but Brandon went ALL-OUT instead. At the beginning, Mr. Blackburn opened with a word of prayer, after that we went around the room and talked about what we were thankful for/what God was showing us through my and Brandon's relationship. It was such a special thing to hear all of our siblings talk about how they wanted to have what Brandon and I had, and that they were going to wait just like we did. There's nothing greater than hearing your loved ones say they're going to follow Christ in all things.
After we went around the room, Brandon and I knelt in front of each other and exchanged "vows". I'm sure many of you are confused and even wondering what the point of that was. As Mr. Blackburn (also known as Pastor Blackburn) recited vows which we repeated, we were making a public statement of the seriousness of our relationship. Brandon and I were not going to enter into a relationship lightly or with the mindset of "oh, well... if I don't like something about him/her then we'll just break up and move on...there are plenty of fish in the sea.." but instead with the mindset of knowing that Christ had called us together and it was our duty to fight for what we cared about, work through issues that arose and not allow the flesh to have any control over our lives.
After the "vows", Brandon was able to further step into his masculine role as leader and initiate/woo me. He shared his heart in even greater detail, brought me to tears once again, and after he finished talking about the joy of being at the place we were... he said he'd written me a poem. Ladies (& gents), I know... you can pick your jaws up off the floor. I was stunned too, especially once he read it to me.
I'm sure you're curious as to what it was so I thought I'd type it up for you to read.
::BRANDON'S COURTSHIP POEM TO TAYLOR::
Taylor's my white rose sent from heaven,
That only my eyes see,
No young man has ever known her,
Only mine she'll ever be.
She's the sweetest rose of color,
This young man ever knew,
Her heart is pure with virtue,
It sparkles like the dew.
I joyed so when I met her,
She quickly stole my heart,
And I know by God's good grace,
Our love shall never part.
She's the lily of my valley,
My bright and morning star,
She my God sent rose of Sharon,
My angel from afar.
She the one with whom I'm safe,
God's answer to my prayer,
And I know that while I'm living,
She always will be there.
She my gift, my joy, my glory,
Of virtue she's the best,
She the one in whom I sing,
And my love shall ever rest.
Once he was finished reading that breathtaking poem, he reached behind the displayed courtship covenant and pulled out....a Zales bag! I could hardly believe it! When I opened it up, inside sat a diamond key necklace! I've never quite felt so showered with love as I did that night... Words cannot do Brandon justice, to say the least.
I felt quite lacking in comparison to what all Brandon had done/said. I had no poem, I had no necklace (not that he'd want one haha)... all I really had were tears. I'm sure many of you have had those moments where you're filled with SO much joy that all you can do is cry? Well, I was at that point... times 10. I couldn't say much... I talked about how I was at such a loss for words. I thanked Brandon for giving me the "key to my heart". I expressed how grateful I was to Brandon, our families and most of all to God... I said "I'm looking forward to seeing what God has in store for the two of us... I know it's going to be something great!".
After we both shared our hearts, our Dad's came...laid hands on us and prayed over us. The best part about courtship, to me, is having my Dad fully approve of the one I'm with. That's always been so important to me... What an amazing thing it was to have our Dad's publicly give their blessing and set that example for our siblings. Once we finished with the "program", his parents signed the courtship covenant (written by our Father's), followed by my parents and ending with us. Many people have asked, and I'm sure wondered, if we feel that signing a courtship covenant is the only way to enter into a relationship. To answer that, I'd have to say no. To be honest, I'd never really heard of it until meeting their family. The intent of the covenant was to state the boundaries we set in place for ourselves and to Biblically show the importance of why we "refrain from this" or "wait for that". It was also a means of accountability, we both signed the covenant thus saying that we were committed to each other, God and our relationships to one another and Him, acknowledging our accountability to Christ- secondly, our parents signed the covenant stating that THEY were going to hold us accountable and do all that they could to help us succeed in our relationship and path of purity, thirdly... the public signing and declaration, if you will, in front of our families and the Sorah's invited everyone to hold us accountable and to show them the transparency of our relationship. While it's not mandatory... It has been a wonderful blessing and daily reminder of the two hearts God joined together for one purpose...to bring glory unto Himself.
This has been a rather lengthy post but I pray it's been encouraging, enlightening and inspiring. Be blessed and stay tuned for Promises Fulfilled Part 8! <sheesh, that's hard to believe! :)
-Taylor
