At the same time, in a small town in southwestern Oklahoma, there lived a young boy named Tory. He wanted very much to be loved, but not just by anyone - he wanted to find the right woman, the woman God had in store for him, and to be loved by her. So, he prayed. And he prayed, and he prayed. There were many times when he was disappointed, but he believed that God had someone even better in store for him.
One day at church, when Gwyn was about 13 years old, she heard about a trip some people were taking to Oklahoma to do a Vacation Bible School. She decided to go along and help out with the music. On the long van ride to Oklahoma, she overheard the driver speaking very highly about a young man at the church in Oklahoma, a young man named Tory. What he said caught her attention, and she was already interested by the time they arrived in Walters, OK.
During the week of Vacation Bible School, Gwyn's interest in Tory grew. She would often find herself staring at him while she was trying to lead the music. To her surprise (and delight!), she noticed that often he was also looking at her from the stage, as she was sitting on the front pew. Over the week, their friendship grew, and by the time she had to return to Indiana they had each other's contact information, with promises to stay in touch.
Over the next few summers, Gwyn returned to Oklahoma with the same group. Each time, her interest in Tory grew. She even invited him to come to Indiana sometime, and to go with her church youth group on a trip to Green Lake, Wisconsin, for a Winter Youth Event, which he did. At Green Lake, their friendship continued to develop, and although Gwyn's feelings for Tory kept growing, she was sure he didn't feel the same way about her. She was content with his friendship - he was, of course, wonderful: who wouldn't want to be his friend? Finally, in the summer of 2000, before Gwyn headed off to college, they saw each other one more time at a national youth gathering in Colorado, followed by one more week of Vacation Bible School. And still, her feelings for Tory kept growing. And still, she was convinced that he didn't feel the same way about her, and so she was content with his friendship. And she prayed, and she prayed, and she prayed.
During college, Gwyn and Tory didn't have much contact. Gwyn began to wonder if God had anyone at all in store for her, or if she was destined to join a convent. Then one day, shortly before graduating from college, God said to Gwyn, "I want you to go to China for a while." And Gwyn said, "Okay."
When Gwyn was in China, she and Tory resumed contact and their friendship intensified. After Gwyn returned to America, she and Tory continued their regular contact and their ever-growing friendship. One day, Tory invited her to come visit him in Arizona. Not long after that, Gwyn found herself boarding a plane to visit her very dear, long-time friend, Tory.
During the visit, Gwyn and Tory both came to realize that for the past 13 years they were not only friends, but they also had a crush on each other. And their friendship blossomed into romance. And still, she prayed, and she prayed...and they prayed.
It was not long before they both realized what God had been doing all along - bringing the two of them together. So, they started talking about marriage. And they prayed, and they prayed. They realized that they didn't only have romantic feelings for the other person - they loved each other.
They visited each other regularly, and it wasn't long before Gwyn got to re-visit southwestern Oklahoma, Tory's home and family. While they were there, of course they had to go and visit Tory's home church, where they first met and where the 'magic' first began. One night, as providence would have it, they found themselves at the very same church where, so many years ago, she had been sitting in the front pew, staring at him on the stage, getting butterflies in her stomach when he would stare back.
Gwyn and Tory sat together on that same front pew that night, taking a trip down memory lane. But Tory didn't stay sitting on the pew. Instead, he knelt down on one knee in front of Gwyn and asked her to marry him.....and she said yes. She knew this was the man that she had been praying for since she was a little girl. And they prayed. And they thanked God for each other, and asked for His wisdom as their relationship grew into something even more wonderful than she had imagined.....
...And they lived happily ever after...
