Some people hear this story and think it’s cool, while others think that it’s crazy or that I remembered what had happened based on what I was seeing. Others believe that God can do anything! I believe that God gave me this dream.
One night between 7 and 8 years ago I had a dream. In the dream I walked into a building where three guys were playing instruments and singing. The guy who was sitting at the drums got up, came over to me, put his arm around me and introduced me to his buddies as his fiance. In my dream I had a flood of feelings…I was very nervous and very excited! I knew I was going to marry this man, but I had no idea who he was. It was like in the dream I knew I was dreaming, and I knew that in real life I didn’t actually know this guy. So, I woke up, told my sister Jess all about the dream, and described the guy to her. Because he was playing the drums, she said that it was Jeff (meaning Jeff Lay, who also played the drums), but I told her that it wasn’t.
Not too long after that, we met Jason (around May 2003), and then we met his parents (in October of 2003). After his parents went home from their visit, they sent pictures of their other two sons Jeff and Greg. When I saw the picture of Jeff, I knew he was the guy from my dream. I called Jess in the room where I was and I told her that he was the guy, and she confirmed that he was what I had described.
That dream didn’t make me know who I was going to marry, but it made me consider the possibility that he might be the one for me. Because of that dream, I was determined to get to know him, and that’s what I did.
June 12, 2004 was the Grace Church picnic at Moyer Park. There was live music and I was asked to sing a couple songs, so I agreed. I was one of the last people to sing, and I started with “You Are Still Holy.”
http://courtneyrowberg.com/music/YouAreStillHolynew.mp3
When I got to the part near the end where it finishes the chorus by going up and then doing the chorus again (at about 3 min. and 13 sec.), I looked up and saw Jeff walking up the sidewalk (this was around 8pm). I had never met him before, but when I saw him, all the emotions—everything I felt in my dream—came back to me. I felt very excited and nervous, and like I knew I was going to marry him. Because he was introduced to my family while I was singing, I didn’t get to officially meet him then, and we actually didn’t speak until the end of the night. We were all getting ready to leave, and I was about to get in the van when I turned around and said “bye,” and he said “bye” back. And that is how we met.
Jeff spent a week in VA with our family that summer, and after he went home, he almost immediately started playing the drums. In the first video I saw with him in it, he was playing the drums, and two other guys were singing and playing instruments, just like in my dream.
To read what happened after that (written in 2007), go here.
We got engaged December 25, 2007 but our “official” engagement wasn’t until June 12, 2008. To read our engagement story, go here.