I knew this day would come.  In fact, I have dreamt of it and prayed about it since my son was born.  Who would be the lucky woman to become his wife?  Who would change her name to ours and join our family? 

My son, Nick, from little on has said that he could not wait to become a husband and father.  I thought that was the sweetest thing when he was a young boy to have such lofty expectations not realizing the undertaking that goal is.  To provide for a family.  To love his bride unconditionally, and to raise kind and respectful children.  Seems very easy coming from an elementary student’s point of view, doesn’t it?

I had been praying since the day he exited my body for the woman he would one day call his wife, but, when he would seriously make that statement about holding those roles close to his heart and really meaning it, I began to pray harder because I knew how important this was to him.  I also knew that wasn’t always an easy goal.  What if he didn’t find true love?  What if the woman he chose didn’t want to have children?  As any mother does, we worry about our children’s dreams coming true, and we work hard alongside them to help foster those aspirations to come to fruition.  However, this one was totally out of my hands and in the Lord’s.  All I could do was wait and pray.

At the start of his Junior year of High School, at only 16 years of age, Nick came home and said that he had met someone at school that he wanted to ask to Homecoming.  She was a new student, a cheerleader, sweet, shy, and she really stood out to him.  Her name was Lily.  Nick did the respectful thing and asked her father’s permission to ask her to Homecoming.  After some probing questions from her father and a visit to Starbucks for a face-to-face coffee meeting (aka, interviewing him as to why he was choosing his daughter to accompany him to the dance), he was granted his request and asked Lily.  With a big smile on her face and a cute, bouncy ponytail on top of her head swishing around at cheerleading practice, she said a definitive “Yes, I will go with you to Homecoming!”

A couple of weeks later, I received a text from Lily which said “Hi, Mrs. Furtado.  This is Lily Kincaid.  This is the dress I have chosen to wear to Homecoming.  I thought you would want to see it.”  Smiling back in the photo was a beautiful, brunette, young woman wearing a lovely robin’s egg blue chiffon dress.  From that moment on, I was hooked.  She instantly had my heart, and as much as I tried not to get my hopes up and too attached to this sweet soul, I couldn’t help it.  Maybe it was mother’s intuition, but I flashed forward in my head and could see her standing next to my son one day as his bride.  Could this really be what I had been praying for all of these years?  What Nick has been praying for all this time?  But they were so young and neither of them had dated before, so it seemed unlikely.  Whoever marries their first boyfriend or girlfriend? 

The night of Homecoming was exciting and full of jitters and LOTS of picture taking.  I watched as Lily fumbled pinning on Nick’s boutonniere and Nick blushing as Lily smiled at him.  We also met Lily’s parents and immediately there was a connection.  It was a blessing to know that as parents we were all in the same position.  This was the first time either of them had been on a date, and this was the first time for us as parents trying to maneuver these waters, as well.  We bonded instantly. 

As the next few weeks unfolded and Nick and Lily were spending more time together, we realized that this dating situation was turning into some real feelings between the two of them. Perhaps it was time to set some boundaries and rules.  So, we met privately with Lily’s parents in order for us to share our expectations and to see if we could come to an agreement as to what would be allowed and what wouldn’t in order to protect our children in these uncharted waters.  They had never dated before, but we had, and we wanted to make sure that we were helping them be respectful of each other, not rushing things, and protecting their hearts as best as possible.  Young love can be intense and our hope, as well as the kids, was to glorify the Lord in their choices.  We were just so happy that Lily’s parents shared our same values and beliefs.  We were able to be a united front that would assist them with accountability and be sure expectations were being met and adhered to. 

To this day, we have been in awe of Nick and Lily’s maturity in their relationship.  They have chosen to do things differently than other couples their age, and we have respected their commitment to each other and to the convictions in their faith. 

Since that time, Nick and Lily have celebrated three and a half years together.  They were able to graduate High School as a couple.  They withstood being apart for 8 months as they traveled around the world on different trips doing mission work.  They have grown together and in their faith.  They have matured and God has been using them in mighty ways.  Our two families have grown in friendship and a deep bond because of our two amazing kids.  They have, in essence, being growing up together and we have gotten to watch them blossom individually, but also together. 

On February 2, 2025, Nick asked Lily to marry him on a beautiful mountaintop on Blakely Island, a place that holds special meaning for both of them.  It was also Nick’s 20th birthday and both of them arrived home to a houseful of friends and family celebrating their news with them at a surprise engagement party.  It seems our prayers are being answered. 

As wedding plans continue and I think of my son becoming a grown man, a husband, and a future father, I have no doubt that he will step into these roles beautifully.  He has been preparing for this moment his whole life.  He has been reading books on marriage, praying regularly, seeking wise counsel, going to church, and has surrounded himself with good, solid friends who hold him accountable and want the best for him and Lily.  He has both sets of parents rooting for him, pouring into him advice (warranted and unwarranted, I am sure), and we are ready, too.  None of us could have dreamt of such an ideal scenario.  Two families becoming so close figuratively and literally (Lily’s family recently moved just three doors down from us), being High School sweethearts, and marrying their first loves.  It just goes to show that when you pray, He hears and He answers.  Not only has he orchestrated the most beautiful love story, but He has blessed our families with such an over abundance of what we have prayed for.  He always gives so much more.  He is THAT good. 

I find it ironic that my own mother-in-law passed away five months ago.  And now, as the cycle continues, I am becoming one myself.  I had the best example of what a genuinely lovely mother and daughter-in-law relationship can look like for almost 30 years.  Martha showed me how to love well, how not to pry, how to welcome a new family in with open arms, and how to be a doting grandmother.  Through her years teaching me, my hope and prayer is that I can be the same to Lily.  This beautiful woman has chosen my son.  I am so honored, grateful, and humbled.  The next stage of parenting for me is on the horizon as our little family expands, and we have more than enough room for her in our hearts and in our family for that.  Cue the bridal processional music….