Our Love Story

We were married Saturday, November 23rd and are off on our honeymoon. This is our love story as we had it printed in our wedding program. 

***

Ivan: 

I like to read; therefore I get a few book catalogs. One day I noticed an ad for a new book, Anything But Simple: My Life as a Mennonite. My first thought was, “Great, we really need another book saying how restrictive the Mennonite life style is.” Eventually, I checked out the book more and noticed the author blogged, so I checked that out. Browsing through the archives, I noticed several articles that had deep content and thought maybe this person isn’t trashing Mennonites after all. 

A few months later I checked Luci’s blog again and found posts about her trip to China. I love learning about other countries, so I started following her to get the whole story. After a while, I realized I connect with her writing and commented from time to time. 

One day, I was looking at a picture she had posted of herself, and it hit me, You need to ask this girl for a date. After some thought, I told God, “That is ridiculous. She just recently started college, which is a dream come true for her; and she’s never even met me. It’s never worked out for me before, so why even try and face the possibility of rejection, considering all the odds that are stacked against me?” 

As I wrestled with God about it, it seemed like he brought the story of the children of Israel to my mind with the question: Will you trust me to take care of the giants and possess the land, or will you let the giants scare you into disobedience and be left wandering in the wilderness for 40 years? 

Knowing what God wanted me to do, and not wanting to “wander in the wilderness,” I finally decided to email her and ask if we could date. I had a day in mind to send the email, but in the meantime, one day I felt like, Now is the time. Luci told me later she received my email at an opportune time. 

Luci: 

Hi, Luci, he wrote, Putting my desire in writing both scares me stiff and excites me to no end, all at the same time. 

Oh, great, I thought. Just exactly what I don’t need. For a while now, I had been suspicious that Ivan’s interest in me went beyond reading my blog. I almost wrote him an email telling him I wasn’t interested in a relationship, but…you know. That’s an awkward letter to write. I never got around to it.

And now this. If only his letter wasn’t so insanely honest and heartfelt and tender. Of course I’ll say yes, I thought when I read that letter. How could I say no to a letter like that? 

But the next morning, reality hit. I had never met Ivan. I had no interest in meeting him. In my mind, he was too old, too conservative, too “other.” He would never fit into my world. I called Mom later that day, sobbing because Ivan thought I was an answer to his prayer, and I was going to have to break his heart and rock his faith. 

Mom sympathized, but Dad took Ivan’s side. “I think you should give him a chance,” he said. “You could at least meet him before you decide. Why not invite him out to our house for a few days over spring break?” 

And so I did. “I don’t think this is going to work,” I told Ivan the first chance I had. I didn’t want him to get his hopes up. “You’re more traditional than I am.” My head was full of preconceived ideas of who Ivan was, what he believed, what he wanted in a marriage. By the time our few days together were over, he had pretty much turned all those ideas upside down and shook them. 

He was honest. Original. Kind. Open with his emotions. Passionate about missions. He prayed with me, and his prayer touched me deeply. 

Ivan: 

As we parted at the airport, I watched her leave, still thinking that I would never see her again. As I flew home I tried to mentally prepare myself for the crash that was sure to come after she officially said ‘no.’ 

While waiting in Pittsburgh, I checked my email to pass the time. Surprisingly, there was an email from her already (she had said she would reply within a week) and, miracle of miracles, she said YES. I was floored! Like I told one person, I crashed alright….into cloud 9. 

It took a few days until the reality soaked in. 

Luci: 

Reality is still soaking in, I guess. We marry today, eight months after we started dating. We praise God for his leading and trust Him to guide us through the thrilling, terrifying, breathtaking process of becoming one.

***

And one more thing…

During one of our earliest discussions, when Ivan was visiting Wisconsin for the first time and dating was only a possibility, he pulled up a picture he had taken on his phone during the flight. Two rivers, one green and one blue, joined into one, their colors blending. “See, this is what it’s like when you start dating,’’ he said. “You keep going in the same direction you’ve always gone, and your lives just naturally blend.”’ 

Because of that, we chose blue and green as our wedding colors and displayed a small fountain with two streams becoming one.