Their "Once Upon A Time"
It's exhilarating, exciting, upsetting, redeeming, restoring, and brilliant.
Their "Once Upon A Time"
It's exhilarating, exciting, upsetting, redeeming, restoring, and enlightening. It's a story of two people on a journey through life's ups and downs, missed moments, regrets, and solutions. Hang in there to the end, it will be well worth your time! It's very important to read the story to it's entirety before attending the wedding in May, You must pay very close attention to some very keywords!
Now, without further ado, here is the story of Kevin & Renee...
Redeemed, Restored, Reborn...
toring, and enlightening. It's a story of two people on a journey through life's ups and downs, missed moments, regrets, and solutions. Hang in there to the end, it will be well worth your time! It's very important to read the story to it's entirety before attending the wedding in May, You must pay very close attention to some very keywords!
Now, without further ado, here is the story of Kevin & Renee...
Redeemed, Restored, Reborn...
June 9, 2011
Renee Hoey left Florida behind and moved back to her hometown of Lafayette, LA.
Meanwhile, Kevin was in Lake Charles, LA wrestling with a choice of whether or not to pursue a professional career in Dance, or attend a ministry school in Lafayette, LA.
September 9, 2011.
Kevin Wold Jr moved from Lake Charles, LA to Lafayette, LA to spend two years at a ministry school in search of not only an education, but a deeper understanding of his identity in Jesus, leaving behind family, friends, and dance.
They both were in search of something deeper.
Neither one of them knew that very month they would meet for the first time.
Neither one of them knew that almost 6 years later they would be getting married.
All they knew was that God was preparing them for a journey of redemption, restoration, and rebirth.
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--- Children's Institute//Bolivia//Africa ---
It wasn't exactly "Love at first sight" for Kevin, but Renee did notice something special about him.
It's not that Kevin was uninterested, it's that in his eyes, she was out of his league! I mean to him she was this gorgeous woman, who had this great job, awesome friends, and her life together. He felt too young, irresponsible, and totally not worthy.
But one day, he heard her speak...
One day he heard her heart beat, through her voice, and her external beauty was matched by a radiant beauty from inside. She spoke about an orphanage. She gave up her Christmas in America, for a Christmas spent with girls that have dirt floors, and no families. She traveled to Bolivia for a few weeks where she showed them Jesus. She showed them Hope, and Love.
THAT is when Kevin knew.
That is when Kevin decided, "One day, I'm going to marry her."
January came, and Kevin went to Africa for 3 weeks, and they missed each other because Renee got back to the states as he was leaving for Kenya. The funny thing is that for Kevin, that season of life, relationships were off limits. He knew that, he honored that, so he just left it alone. He didn't flirt, he didn't try anything. He just let God do what only God should do.
He continued on this season, and so did she. Not knowing how each other felt. Not knowing what each other was thinking. Just loving God, loving people, and putting aside the feelings to focus on what God needed to do INSIDE of them.
-------SUMMER 2012-------
Kevin graduated his first year and was immediately hired to work for the children's ministry (the same one Renee worked for).
He was so excited, not only for the opportunity, but the fact that she was in the office next to him. They spent a lot of time together that summer. They talked a lot. They obviously were into one another.
But Kevin wasn't ready. He was afraid of commitment, and she still needed to walk through a process of healing and restoration, as did he.
You may think "wow, they sure did make things complicated", but really, they are so thankful for the process they had to walk through.
---- COLORADO vs. LOUISIANA ----
The end of that summer approached and something happened, Renee moved. She left for Colorado to help plant a church. Kevin stayed in Louisiana to do a second year in the ministry program. As soon as she left, Kevin started to battle with his willingness to commit to her. He was challenged by the thought of her never coming back, or finding someone else. His own fear of commitment drove a wedge in between them, and that's when it happened, he just cut her out of his life.
They were never official, but they both knew they wanted it, and they both knew it was, right. Yet, he broke her heart, actually, he broke his own heart too.
It wasn't long before they both started making decisions that just pulled them in separate directions. Not only in distance, but also relationally. They moved on, she met a guy, and moved back to Louisiana, and Kevin, well, he just focused on where he was and what he had in front of him.
As soon as Kevin realized what he had done, it was too late. She moved on, and it wasn't long after that he had to move on as well. It wasn't easy, but he did. Although deep down he knew it would work out some day, and I would say she thought the same.
>>>>> Fast forward to 2014<<<<<
----- "The Bag of Skittles" -----
Just a few years later lots of things had changed. A break up, a wake up, and some really beautiful revelations. Renee was available again, and Kevin was "ready".
One night Kevin was working the closing shift at the local Walgreens, when he saw a bag of skittles there in front of him. In that moment, after a few years of waiting, wondering, and hoping, he KNEW it. He felt this urgency to buy this bag of skittles (her favorite candy), call Renee, and convince her to meet him somewhere to talk. (Kevin, not knowing at the time that Renee was actually meeting with a friend that very night talking about him, and the future she was wondering about!)
That's when he thought again, for the second time, "I'm going to marry this woman", and that's also when he finally knew that he could say it out loud. Words he had feared for most of his life became less scary because of the simple thought of it being with her. He told her how he felt, they talked for hours that night! It was such a great moment, but don't get your hopes up because this isn't actually when it all happened for them.
Over that summer of 2014 they ran into several different obstacles that seemed to hinder any effort at being in a relationship, so that fall Kevin made the decision to wait, some more. So he waited. Decisions were made, different paths were taken.
--- "Hey, help me make dance moves for the kids worship songs!" ---
2015.
Kevin snapped out of it, and so did she.
He was tired of running, and waiting, and so was she.
It was adorable because Renee really needed help with some dance moves for the kids worship songs, and well, Kevin lived next door and he is a dancer. So one random night, they got together to work on some moves.
>>> ((Our video of the night everything changed! CLICK HERE!!!)) <<<
It was then everything actually made sense, and this time, it's as if their minds and hearts were FINALLY in one accord. It was this night that propelled them into a journey together, and for the first time they both wanted the same thing, and were willing to go for it, at the same time.
That summer they grew closer. There was clearly an interest in both of their hearts. Come August 7th, 2015, next to the riverwalk in Baton Rouge, LA, Kevin asked Renee to be his lady, she said yes. The night ended with white roses. 3 white roses to be exact.
1). The first white rose represented Renee's past. It represented how she has been redeemed completely from her past, and Kevin was choosing to see that.
2). The second white rose represented the present. It represented the purity of her heart in present time, and that Kevin had respect and admiration for her heart. It represented the fact that she is pure, whole, and restored.
3). The third white rose represented the future. It meant that from that moment on, Kevin would uphold a standard so high, to do nothing but initiate purity in their relationship. It was a promise to her that he will lead her, and guide her as they are both reborn in the eyes of Christ.
Her name means Reborn, and how beautiful that a man who was lost and broken, can introduce his wife as "reborn". What a testimony to the world that God has good, pure, new, and great things for His children.
On May 20th, 2017, a miracle will take place, as a redeemed man, takes on his restored bride, and they become reborn as one.