Speaking of Praise
To be honest, I was a little nervous. While I was fairly certain she would say “yes”, I wasn’t certain I had come up with the best plan. It wasn’t grand enough, not suitable for a girl of her caliber; yet, I went with it nonetheless. I was constantly checking my watch, hoping the flight would land a bit early so I could arrive at her apartment before she got home. A three and a half hour drive awaited me once I made it to Nashville. It was December 31st, 2013 and I was about to be on the way to propose to my girlfriend of one year. On the drive to Lexington, I had plenty of time to sort through the checklist of things a guy is supposed to do before proposing; ask the dad, get a ring, let her best-friend and sister know. Check. Check. Check. And Check. I was in great shape. Should I get candles? Music? Ugh. Here I am overthinking one of the most important questions in my life. Surprise, Surprise.
When I got to Lexington, most stores were closed (because it was New Year’s Eve) so I struggled to find candles. Luckily, I found a set of four tealight candles at a random Walgreens next to Kayla’s apartment. After checking the burn time, I knew I had around a thirty minute window to make the surprise as romantic as wax roses and five dollar candles can be. The anticipation grew as I waited for Kayla to get to her apartment, after a long day at work. Her roommate was there to take pictures of the special moment and kept giving me updates as to Kayla’s whereabouts. When Kayla opened the door and peered inside, she knew what was coming. I will spoil the ending, she said yes and the rest is history.
Keeping the secret from Kayla was incredibly difficult. There was a growing anticipation within me that wanted to break down and just ask her, but I also wanted us to have a special moment. When I ponder what it means to sit in silent reflection, I cannot help but consider the Song of Zachariah. Upon hearing of the birth of his son, (John the Baptist) Zachariah was a bit hesitant to trust in Gabriel's promise. This resulted in Zachariah being temporarily unable to speak. However, when he could, this is the first thing he said:
Luke 1:68-75
“Praise be to the Lord, the God of Israel, because he has come to his people and redeemed them. He has raised up a horn of salvation for us in the house of his servant David (as he said through his holy prophets of long ago), salvation from our enemies
and from the hand of all who hate us — to show mercy to our ancestors and to remember his holy covenant, the oath he swore to our father Abraham: to rescue us from the hand of our enemies, and to enable us to serve him without fear in holiness and righteousness before him all our days.”
As we prepare ourselves for Advent and the beginning of the year, let us ask, “what can we learn in the silence?” It might be challenging but it could be, God is having us learn what it means to think before speaking. There is also a glorious revelation when it comes to knowing salvation is coming. The words inside of us build up, boil, and spill over when praise leaves are lips. And what a majestic moment that will be.
Peace to you,
Rev. Taylor Kibler
