In August 2006 mom and I loaded up my tiny Corolla and drove from Atlanta to Fort Worth, TX. I was going to start my first semester of seminary. We arrived in the early evening of Tuesday, August 12. That next day I was at the RAC (seminary's gym) talking with a friend from college when he walked in. Yes, Trey, the tall, handsome lifeguard :). I remember watching him walk through those doors and thinking "I'm going to marry him." It wasn't like a declaration or even a hopeful desire. It was more like a peaceful thought deep in my spirit. I would say it was the Lord. I told mom and my sister later that day that I had seen the most handsome man at seminary. I called from friend Natalie that day and told her I'd seen my future husband. We jokingly referred to him as that for the following week.
I didn't really see Trey for the next week and a half. But on Friday, August 18, I was visiting a girl I'd met in the admissions office. Her friend, who had been on a date with Trey earlier in the summer, told me I needed to meet Trey. Little did I know she was just using me to go see him, but I guess it worked out in my favor! She wanted to drive over to see him, so I agreed we could take my car over there. But lo and behold, when we came to my car...the back tire was flat! Here I was, all the way in Fort Worth, with my dad states away, and I had no idea how to change a flat tire. The girl said "It's ok, I'm sure Trey will change it for you," so off we went to the RAC. We walked in the pool area, and Trey says that at the moment he saw me, something changed inside him. He knew I was different. I walked up to him and said "Nice to meet you, I'm Kara. Can you change my tire?" And thus began this beautiful friendship. We spent so much time together over the following weeks, and I wondered often whether or not he shared my feelings. Finally, on October 6, we became an official couple when...a German kid named Sasha (pronounced Zasha...little red headed boy) looked at Trey and asked with his very thick German accent, "Is she your girlfriend?" Trey looked at him, looked at me, stammered a little, then said "Uh...ya." Yes, that is right; my tall, confident man awkwardly informed me that I was his girlfriend. And of course, I agreed :)
We dated until late February 2007, at which time we broke up. I was the one that instigated the breakup, needing some time to be alone with the Lord and figure a few things out. Shortly after our breakup, Trey told me one night that the Lord had made it clear he needed to "let me go." He promised me that night that he would not push himself into my life, but that he would be waiting for me on the other side. We set a date in August to get together and decide if we'd start dating again or go our separate ways for good. We did not communicate or see each other at all during this time.
During the breakup, the Lord worked many great things in mine and Trey's heart. These things are best shared over a cup of coffee and not on a blog, so I will save them for private conversations with friends. While I was growing and being shaped by the Lord during this breakup, Trey was saving for a ring. In June he called my dad and asked for my hand in marriage. Mind you, we were still broken up at this time. Dad gave Trey his permission, not knowing what I would say. Somehow, my family managed to keep this a secret from me.
Fast forward to August 16, the day of our date. At this point I had the peace of knowing Trey was the one I wanted to marry. Earlier that week a friend had said "What if he proposes?" I said "Are you crazy? He can't propose! You don't just go from being single to being engaged!" Or, maybe you do. Because when Trey picked me up for that date, he walked me to a bench on campus, got down on one knee, and proposed right away. And I said YES!! A photographer happened to be nearby preparing for a shoot, and when she saw what was happening, she captured it on film! Here are the shots.
I leave you with a song that excites me every time I hear it. It is "Who Are We Fooling" by Brooke Frasier. I love, love, love the lyrics to this song. They are such a beautiful word picture of the marriage relationship. Trey Holmes, every day I am honored and humbled to be tethered to you in this tangled knot called marriage. May we only get more and more tangled together as the years go by!!
