This picture makes me laugh. And then cry. And then thank the Lord and laugh some more.

I have a handful of Lacy’s engagement pictures to share with you today, but this one is my favorite. Taken in Oma and Opa’s kitchen this past Sunday when Lacy and Jake arrived home from their trip to Bodega Bay, where they got engaged Saturday afternoon. This picture is especially charming considering Cruz, photobombing here, was conceived in Bodega Bay. Not to confuse anyone who doesn’t regularly read my blog, or know us, but Cruz is Lacy’s baby brother, not her son. He has been mistaken for her son quite often, since Cruz looks so much like Lacy, and it’s easier for people to believe an 18 year old gave birth to this kid, rather than a 43 year old mom like me at the time.

But back to the engagement story because that’s what you’re all waiting for, right?

Can I tell you it’s been a long road getting these two here. Last May, Scott and I met Jake in church. I’ve already written a blog post about that here: http:http://psbicknell.com/when-god-answers-your-prayers/. At the time, Jake and Lacy were in other relationships, rebounding from broken hearts acquired in even earlier relationships. Let’s just say if Lacy and Jake had been soldiers in World War II, it would have been like Lacy fighting in the Pacific and Jake on the battlefield in Europe. They hadn’t met yet, but were in the same world war. A war for love. Like most of us, Lacy and Jake wanted true love.

Yesterday, I saw this picture of the laughing Christ in a Christian bookstore. I was looking for a marriage devotional for Lacy and Jake when I spotted it hanging on the wall. If I had a hundred bucks of spare change in my purse, I would have laughed even more, and bought this picture. Instead, I settled for snapping a copy of it with my iPhone, after standing in front of it, and laughing too, praying and laughing, my eyes all misty.

Holy laughter.

I’m not sure what holy laughter really is, or if I’ve ever experienced it, but I did have a holy moment standing there in that Christian bookstore yesterday in front of this picture. The same thing happened to me the day after Lacy’s car accident back in October. I went upstairs to the boys’ room to make their beds. There is a mirror in their room, and taped to this mirror is this same laughing Christ picture on a yellowing piece of paper. We’ve had this since Scott became a Christian. I don’t know where the piece of paper picture of Jesus laughing came from, but my husband loves it. We all love it. There is something very profound and powerful about our Savior laughing. I know Jesus is laughing joyfully with me over Lacy and Jake. Two trips to the emergency room together to seal their love, keep reading, I’ll explain. Don’t we all need healing before we can really love?

And before Jake and Lacy found true love with each other, they surrendered their wounded hearts to the truest love of all, Jesus Christ. Before coming together, they sat alone in church. We always did our best to talk Lacy into sitting with us, but sometimes she sat alone. “I just need Jesus right now. It’s not that I don’t want to sit with the fam,” that’s what Lacy always calls us, “The Fam” but I need to be alone with Jesus, Mom. I really need Him.”

The day we met Jake, he was sitting alone in church too, and on his wrist was a cross bracelet. I could tell by the way Jake bowed his head in church, that he was a man surrendering his heart to God. As soon as I saw Jake, I knew he was the one Jesus had chosen for Lacy. And for us. Because Jake would be joining “The Fam.”

“The Lord God said, “It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper suitable for him.” Genesis 2:18.  

Lacy will make the perfect helper for Jake since she’s becoming a nurse. Without Cruz’s photobomb to distract you, take a look at Jake’s thumb. After a romantic time on the beach, where Jake got down on his knee in the sand and proposed, totally surprising Lacy because she wasn’t expecting a proposal until perhaps her birthday in May, the two returned to their campsite. Jake had sharpened his ax to cut firewood. Let this be a lesson to all you men out there, do not sharpen your ax on the day you propose. Jake used his very sharp ax to open a bottle, and in the process of opening that bottle, sliced his thumb open.

A trip to the ER in Santa Rosa ensued. The funny thing is, Lacy and Jake’s first date was a Bible study, but their first outing together was a camping trip. When Lacy returned from camping last October, she said, “He’s perfect, Mom, but I am leaving for nursing school soon. I don’t think I want a serious relationship right now.”

The next day after that first camping trip, Lacy and Jake met at church, sat together, along with the fam, and then went grocery shopping because Jake seems to do this on Sundays. After grocery shopping, Lacy headed home to take a nap before her night shift at the hospital. Driving eighty, yes, eighty miles an hour in the first rain of the season, Lacy lost control of her car and crashed, read about that here:http://psbicknell.com/a-month-of-sundays/.

Jake met us at the crash site, and he drove Lacy to the ER because she refused to get in the ambulance with the guys she worked with at the hospital. She was shaken and embarrassed, and if you want my opinion, after being held in Jake’s big strong arms after nearly dying, riding with Jake in his truck was better than riding in that ambulance. And cheaper too. That’s our Lacy. She’s always been an inexpensive daughter for us. The things that really matter to Lacy aren’t material. Bless her heart, she bought her own wedding dress a couple of years ago at a thrift store. It’s not really a wedding dress, but looks like a wedding dress, and I will never forget the day Lacy showed it to me. “This is my wedding dress, Mom, it didn’t cost much.”

“Wow,” I said, “who are you marrying?” “I don’t know,” Lacy replied. “But do you like it?” “I love it, honey,” I said. “It’s made of lace, and looks just like you.” I think we both may have cried that day. And prayed together for Lacy’s future husband. And cried some more. I think Lacy bought the dress after her first real heartbreak. I’m so glad neither of us knew there would be more heartbreaks to come before Jake swept her off her feet last autumn.

This past Saturday evening, with a ring on her finger for maybe an hour, Lacy drove Jake to the ER. That’s where they spent their engagement night. The two drove home Sunday and we surprised them with a little engagement party at the ranch. It’s actually where Lacy has been living this past year with Oma and Opa. Lacy and Jake love the ranch. I think someday they will live there too.

It just so happened that our family was taking pictures Sunday afternoon for my mom’s 75th birthday, which was a few weeks ago. We’d set this plan into motion way back in November when we took our Christmas pictures, and our photographer, the amazing Kayla Webb of Ashton Imagery, took home a puppy with the promise of taking pictures in the spring for us. We were supposed to take Mom’s birthday pictures in February, but things fell through, and I was really bummed. This past weekend it was supposed to rain, and I thought the pictures would fall through again. Since Kayla is due to have a baby in May, and is all booked up until then, I thought we might have to wait until summer to take these pictures.

But God is so good! The sun came out. Lacy and Jake came home. And Kayla not only took my mom’s 75th birthday pictures of our whole family, she took Lacy and Jake’s engagement pictures too. It was the first test for me of becoming Jake’s mother-in-law. Jake had that big bandage on his hand and he began unwrapping it before pictures.

“Don’t take that off,” I said, rushing over to him when I saw what he was doing. He stared me in the eye for a moment, never lost that sweet look always on his face, but softly and firmly told me, “I’m taking it off.” “Okay,” I said, and returned to bossing the rest of our family around. “You stand here. You stand there. You boys be good! Quit picking your nose! Quit kicking your brother! Quit hanging in the tree!

We all survived getting seventeen people to smile at the same time, and then watched Lacy and Jake walk off by themselves to be photographed among the wildflowers blanketing the Sutter Buttes this year because of all the rain. It was a perfectly imperfect day. Welcome to the fam, Jake. We love you!