The Year of Promise
Last year, I turned 33 years old. A couple of friends declared on my birthday that it was my “Jesus Year.” Being a bit of a sarcastic sass, I asked, “Wasn’t that the year Jesus died?” Graciously, they replied, “No, Tim. It was the year the Promise was fulfilled.” Needless to say, their counter hit me hard, in the best way possible.
At first, I simply chalked it up as an awesome response. However, with my 34th birthday just around the corner, I’ve realized that this past year has indeed been a year of promise. The specific promise was one I’ve had since I was young: the Promise of Family.
My parents raised me the best they could, and watching them gave me an idea of what a loving marriage looked like. I wanted that, too, if not something better. I carried that desire with me for years.
Of course, I had a lot of bum steers along the way. As a fan of the childhood-friend trope, I tried asking out girls I had a decent friendship with. Most of these ended with gentle rejections. One resulted in a relationship ruined. The one girl I dated in college cheated on me. But, like Abraham waiting for Isaac, I had to trust the process, trust the Promise.
Then, after years of dragging my feet, I finally decided to try a dating app. That’s when I met Rachel. We chatted online for a bit, then decided to meet in person. To make it unique, we each brought a book we enjoyed and wanted to recommend to the other. I brought her Raising Dragons by Bryan Davis, and she brought me Mistborn by Brandon Sanderson (yes, I’m still making my way through it).
Despite a particular hat of mine that nearly killed the vibes on our second date, we really hit it off. Both of us made it clear that we were dating with marriage in mind, so we chose to have pre-engagement counseling. Think pre-marital counseling, but before we made any major proposals. Getting that sort of guidance while we were still dating gave us many conflict-resolution tools and new looks at each other and ourselves (10/10 would recommend for anyone still dating). These sessions led us to August 23, 2024, when a discussion over some pre-engagement questions confirmed for me that I wanted to marry Rachel.
Now, we come to the Year of Promise. I was still living with my parents at the time. Shortly after my birthday, my mother decided it was time for her to move closer to my grandmother, who lived almost 2 hours away. The moving date was set for January. I couldn’t move with them because of work, so I had to find new housing. This proved to be harder than anticipated.
Rachel and I had already talked about getting married, and this new development spurred us to speed things along. In December of 2024, we had a civil ceremony at the courthouse. That promise of married life had finally been reached. A new chapter was about to begin.
At least, I thought that was the full package for the Year, but God clearly had more in store for me.
In March of this year, we held a larger, more traditional wedding celebration with friends and family. The planning for it was stressful at times, but the team at Wedgewood Weddings really helped everything run smoothly (in case you need any recommendations). Then, in May, we moved to a new house closer to both of our jobs. Our new space is pretty quirky, but we’ve turned it into a comfortable home. Shortly after that, Rachel received a promotion, increasing our annual income.
As we were settling into our new surroundings, Rachel came home one day and straight up told me, “Tim, something feels off. I’m going to take a pregnancy test.” Her words didn’t fully register at first. We hadn’t planned on having kids yet, so I was caught off guard a bit. Lo and behold, she took the test, and the blue plus sign lit up in an instant. According to her doctor, there are false negatives, but no false positives.
My 33rd year has been an absolute whirlwind. It has embodied growth, romance, and constant surprises. As I head into year 34, I thank God for keeping His promises and can’t wait to see what comes next.