The short story: they worked together for nearly a year and developed a solid friendship before they started dating. They're getting married in late June in the Salt Lake temple of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Gabrielle is 22, and Raine is 24.
Read below for exhaustive details.
Nearly ten months ago, I had a very strong feeling that I needed to tell Gabrielle something that God wanted her to know. It was such a specific thing that I was a little reluctant to say anything at all, but the feeling of urgency wouldn't go away. I fully believe parents can receive revelation for their children when needed, so I decided I'd wait for the right time and see how to fit it in to the conversation.
I had the opportunity to tell her a couple days later when we all gathered at the hospital to visit Sian and Nathan after the birth of our tiny, premature grandson. As we were leaving the hospital, Gabrielle got teary, so I pulled her aside for a little mother-daughter chat. She was struggling with knowing what her next move in life was. She'd had so many bad experiences with dating, but she felt ready to move on to the next phase of life as a wife and mother, and she didn't know what she was supposed to be doing despite her consistent prayers.
It was the perfect moment. I told her what the Lord had prompted me to say, which was that if she moved out of the house where she was then living, she would meet the man she was going to marry. I was nervous because that was a very specific promise, but I had to have faith that I was telling her the right thing. She immediately cheered up and told me that I had validated the answer she felt she'd received as she had prayed.
Soon after, she moved into the house where Sophia had rented a room (how that happened is also a testament to how the Lord knows what you need exactly when you need it). And, little did she know, she almost immediately met the man who would be her future fiance'.
Raine is also an employee at the company where Gabrielle and Sophia work. He and Gabrielle don't work in the same unit, but the company is small enough that they knew of each other and began to develop a friendship. Ten months ago, Gabrielle was not ready to date. Had he asked her out then (and he was seriously thinking about it), she would have said no. But their friendship grew, and a few weeks ago, they realized they had so much in common and so enjoyed each others' company that they should date. While Gabrielle did have moments of strong anxiety due to her past experiences, we had some excellent phone conversations, and I was able to help her talk out her worries and figure out what was normal anxiety and what was unreasonable worry. She had forgotten what I told her ten months ago, and when I reminded her, she immediately felt a great deal of relief.
Saturday night, I got home from a meeting to find the two of them in my living room with Husband, Elannah, and the boys. After hugs and introductions, Gabrielle flashed the plain white-gold band on her left hand (no gemstones, just the way she likes it) and announced that she and Raine were engaged. She's so happy, and that makes me so happy. And as we got to know Raine over the course of the evening, I can see why she's so happy. They fit very well together. They have similar career and life goals and share a strong faith. He loves kids (which is very important to me as a grandmother!), and he's intelligent, funny, and outgoing--just like Gabrielle. He obviously respects our daughter, and she respects him.
They're planning a late June wedding in the Salt Lake temple. Oy! That's pretty quick, but Raine's family had already planned a big family trip to Hawaii in July, so they decided to use that as their honeymoon. It's a good thing that they aren't interested in an elaborate reception because we don't have time to plan one of those.
So now my second daughter is going to be a Mrs., and I'm just so grateful that she will be as happy as Sian. My mother's heart wants only that her children be truly happy with their chosen mates and produce as many grandchildren as possible for my sake.
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