It’s a Love Story

Our youngest daughter, Mackenzie, married the love of her life, Kobe Keller, on December 10, 2021, in Decatur, Texas, at a beautiful and rustic wedding venue that was originally a cattle farm.  They transformed the barn into the wedding hall, and the original farmhouse into the bridal dressing room.

I started to cry when I caught the first glimpse of Harold and Mackenzie walking down the path toward the wedding aisle. It was such a sweet moment.

Just minutes earlier, my eyes were filled with tears but it was for a different reason. I was sitting down holding our youngest granddaughter, Remi, while waiting to line up for the ceremony, and she pooped through her diaper and onto my pink dress. Her daddy quickly scooped her up and I ran to the bathroom to scrub my dress in the sink as tears filled my eyes.

While I’m normally as cool as a cucumber, my nerves were a little shaken at this point as the wedding was just about ready to start. Tears filled my eyes as I was frantically scrubbing my dress in the bathroom sink, and simultaneously asking God to calm my nerves. My dress was soaking wet but thanks to a bunch of paper towels and the Texas sun it was partially dried as I walked down the aisle escorted by our grandson, Colby.

The wedding started at 4:30 p.m. and the weather was amazing, especially for an outdoor Texas wedding in December. The temperatures were in the low 80s and the winds were light, whereas just a couple of days before the temperatures were in the 50s. Earlier in the day, the winds were much stronger which gave us a little bit of cause for concern, but our fears were allayed as the winds subsided just as the wedding began. Mackenzie planned the timing of the ceremony to begin at 4:30 p.m. to coincide with the expected sunset.

The reception was a great mix of fun, dancing, and many sweet moments. Toasts were made by the Best Man, Chris Elston, the Maid of Honor, Raquel Blades, and our daughter Megan. They each spoke from their hearts.

I enjoyed dancing with everyone, especially my grandkids, Harold, my crazy dancing son-in-law Marty, and even my non-crazy, non-dancing son-in-law John!

While I’ve prayed for each of our daughters and their future husbands since they were young, my prayers were fairly generic, asking God for a nice young man and the perfect spouse for each one of them. But, about five years earlier, I sensed my prayers for Mackenzie needed to be more specific. We talked about it and she said she wanted someone who was cute, country, and Christian (Kobe—exactly!), so that’s what I specifically prayed for her.

I’ve learned in life that God often answers prayers in ways that we might not have ever imagined. I believe He arranged Mackenzie and Kobe’s chance encounter one night in 2016 in downtown Fort Worth. They talked for a short while, exchanged phone numbers, and took a selfie together. Kobe captioned the photo and posted it on social media, “Me and the future wife.”

While they were initially just friends who “just happened to meet” in 2016 and sent a few texts afterward, nothing really came of it until 2020 when they began texting again and then dating, and now, well now…“It’s a Love Story!”

“So we have come to know and to believe the love that God has for us. God is love, and whoever abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him.” 1 John 4:16

Here’s a few more photos from the wedding and reception: