Surprise Engagement

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You're listening to my Morning Devotional podcast, episode 1211. Today's Devo is called the Surprise Engagement. Hey there. We're the Alessies, a ministry family working together in our church in Miami, Florida. And if you're like us, when days get busy and to do lists get longer, it can be hard to find devotional time.

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That's why we've partnered with our friend Alison to produce a five minute daily dose of heaven. This is the My Morning Devotional podcast. Well, good morning, everybody. This is Gabby Alessi, and I'm coming on and I haven't been on in a few weeks.

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And yeah, something has changed. Something has changed within me. Something happened over the last week or so, actually in the last 10 days, and I have to announce it right here on the podcast. I am officially engaged, everybody. I cannot believe it. I am floored. I mean, I can believe it because obviously we'll get into all the details of, of how it happened. And yes, I did know that it was happening, but I'm just so, so, so excited and I just can't believe it actually happened. I'm, like, still in shock with everything. And it's been, at least right now when I'm recording this, it's been a week. By the time you're listening, It'll be like 10 days from now. And it still feels. Feels crazy and surreal, but it also just feels right. And so people keep asking me, like, are you shocked? Like, does it feel like you're engaged? And I'm like, no. But yeah, like, it does. It just feels right. And you know, when God does it and when it's in the will of God, things just fall into place and it just feels right and you just know it's the right thing. And so today I want to talk about it. I want to share a little bit about the engagement. And actually,

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1 through 2. And it says, I will give thanks to the Lord with my whole heart. I will tell of all of your wonderful deeds. I will be glad and rejoice in you. And I will sing the praises of your name, O most High. So today I want to tell of the wonderful deeds of God.

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And one of those wonderful deeds was just this engagement in this proposal and this season that I'm getting to walk into. So a couple of answers to your questions. Did I expect it? I knew it was happening at some point.

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January, February, or March. I did not know it was happening on February 14th. So my fiance and I had Been dating for a year and a half. And about last year, around October, late October, we were talking to my parents and my family and my dad basically was like, hey guys, let's make it happen. Like, now's the time for you guys. We were gonna wait a little bit and just save up and do all the stuff that, you know, usually you would do. And my dad's like, you know what? You're never gonna be ready, so it's time to be ready.

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And he, he really did feel like. And my whole family felt like it was the time for us. So we started looking at rings. I, I was the type of girl that I wanted to see it on my hand before I picked a ring. I didn't know what I liked yet or what I wanted.

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So my fiance and I, Christian and I went and yes, his name is Christian. His name is Chris. Now there are three Chrises in this family.

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So I apologize. But we went to a ring store, we went to a jeweler and we tried on a bunch of rings back in November of 2024. And then he bought the ring in December. And then, yeah, February 14th last week, he and I went out for dinner. I had no idea, guys. Like, I actually had no idea. And it's funny because I'm a little bit of a control freak. Just, just a little bit. And I remember that when he and I were talking about like, oh, is it going to happen this year? Whatever. Every single weekend, since obviously last weekend, every weekend of this new year, I have been expecting it like every Friday night. I've been preparing myself, like this could be the night. In fact, like January 29th was a Friday and my dad was like, hey guys, let's all go to the rodeo this Friday. And in my head I started to fully believe this is, this is it, this is the COVID up story. He's just making something up to get us all together. My dad's doing what he's got to do. And I was fully convinced it was on January 29th.

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Soon to find out that I was sitting in stands in the stands at a rodeo with cowboy boots on, realizing this was not the night that I was getting engaged. And I'm so glad because that would have been a little bit of a nightmare. But yeah, so I expected it every weekend except for the 14th. And the morning of the 14th, I just, I convinced myself it's not today, it's not today. I told myself, don't go there, don't believe it, it's not happening.

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To the point where my, my mom and I. We went and got our nails done that day, and I specifically wanted red nails for our engagement. So I've just had red nails for the last, like, two months. And I'm really annoyed of it. But, yeah, I still have them. And we got our nails done, and then later, I was washing my hair, and I really wanted, like, a certain hairstyle, and I was like, mom, do you think you can do it? And she's like, I'd love to do your hair. And my grandma was in town, so it was actually really sweet because unknowingly, my mom and grandma did my hair for the date, and I didn't even.

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Honestly, I think the Lord just made me blind for that day because I just wasn't even prepared for it. But they did my hair. I wore the dress that I wanted to wear. I bought that dress intentionally for the engagement. The shoes that I wore, he bought those shoes for me. And so everything just fell into place. And so we went to dinner that night, just he and I. And on the way back from dinner, he pulled into my house, and I pulled into the most beautiful setup in my front yard, and my family was all tucked away in the dark. I couldn't see them. And he got down on one knee, and he asked me to marry him. And then at that moment, my family came out, and then all of our friends came out, and it was just a core memory. It was one of the best nights of my life, probably the best night of my life. And so I'm super excited for it. And I know I have to finish this in, like, five minutes. This is the hardest thing to ever do. So I apologize if I go over today. But it was such a blessing. And, you know, as Psalm says, it was a wonderful deed. It was something that I look back on, and I'm just so grateful that the Lord did that. And this was something in this relationship, and I'll share it even more. But there was a lot of moments that we had to submit the plans that we wanted. I had to submit what I wanted, my dreams and desires. Even before Christian, I had to submit a lot of things that I wanted. But I look back on February 14th, and I think, you know, God knew the whole time, and God stepped in, and he did a wonderful thing that night. And I just pray, and I know Christian, and I talk about it all the time. Our desire is that our relationship will point and glorify our Father. It will glorify God in every season of our relationship. And so if you took away anything from our engagement, other than how exciting it is. Just know that this was all God and if it wasn't for him we would not be here today. And so I give thanks to the Lord today with all of my heart and I will tell of his wonderful deeds. I'll be glad and rejoice in him and I will continue to sing the praises of his name because he is faithful and if it wasn't for God, I would not be here today. So I hope you enjoyed that and I hope this speaks to you today and I want to pray us out. Lord, I just thank you for today. I thank you for your word. I thank you for your promise and your faithfulness and your goodness.

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God, you are good. You give good gifts.

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Every good and perfect gift gift comes from above. It comes from you. And I just thank you for it Lord. And I pray that our engagement, our story, our relationship can encourage and just can point back to you. Let everything we do glorify you God. Let it not be about us. Let it not just be about the decisions we made and how we're living as Christians know God. I want it to point back to you and your glory and your name. And so we thank you for it. In Jesus name Amen. So there you have it, your five minute daily dose of heaven. Thank you so much for tuning in today. We pray these devotionals empower you to take on your day. If you found value in this devotional, share it with a friend, leave a comment or review for us on the app you're using right now.

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Until tomorrow. We pray that your latte is strong, but your love for Jesus is stronger.