I am SO SO excited to share the wonderful news that Ahmed and I are engaged!!  The date is set for September 13th, as in we will be married four months from now! A lot of things are already in place, so we aren't TOTALLY crazy, but there is a lot of work to be done! Did I mention we're excited?!! :)
I am so SO happy, but I also have a lot of thoughts and feelings about things I have learned that I don't want to forget.  This has not been an easy journey and is still ongoing, but I can say everything has been completely worth it. Looking back at the last six and a half years of our relationship, Ahmed and I have been through so much together and are now two totally different (for the better) people than we were when we met.  When we started dating, if I would have known it would take this long to get to this point, I'm pretty sure I would have given up right way, thinking it would be too hard.  It's a scary thought, because I would have missed out on everything.  I don't think you can know what you are capable of until you live through something and look back.  
Coming from two loving families with different backgrounds from very different cultures has given us a lot to figure out.  Figuring out how our future could work together is what made things challenging, but waiting on God's timing for everything has by far been the hardest part for me. Ahmed is so easy for me to love, and it was so hard spending so much time not knowing if we would ever be married and then waiting for the right time to make things happen. Ahmed is an amazing man with love for God and his family.  He is caring and loving and brings out the best in me.  We always have something to talk about and can have fun traveling the world or just hanging out at home.  And he's a REALLY big dork.  What's not to love? :)  
Obviously, our lives were not on hold for the last six plus years.  While I was waiting, I sometimes had to remind myself to not miss out on everything around me.  I have countless awesome memories from this period of time, but some things were hard, like watching so many friends get engaged and married. Sometimes I felt alone, because there was no one else in my shoes that could totally understand what I was going through. I am fortunate to have the most amazing and supportive friends and family in the world, so even when I felt like someone didn't quite get it, I still knew they cared.
Marrying Ahmed is a dream come true, and I know without a doubt that being married to him will make all of the tears, sadness, anxiety, and loss of sleep worth it. BUT, God has done a lot of amazing things in this beyond bringing us together. I have learned so much about trust and faith and patience through this experience. (I would like to hope God is done teaching me about patience. Ha. ;) I have been pushed and encouraged to dig deeper in my relationship with God and to work really hard on being content. During all of this, I have always had so much to be thankful for, even on my worst days. 
Ahmed, I thank God every day for putting you in my life. I love you so much and am so excited to be married to you! I know that this is only the beginning of our journey. While I have no idea what our future holds, I hope and pray that God continues to stay at the center of our relationship and that we don't lose sight of what is important as we prepare to join our lives together.  Only 120 days to go!!  
Engagement story coming soon :)
If you stuck with me for this entire post, here's a little reward: a pic of my ring!