She said, "Yes!"

The past two years have been fraught with unimaginable challenges and unexpected disappointments. It is easy, at times, to get overwhelmed by what seems to be a tidal wave of bad news.

Embedded in all that disappointment, however, are moments of luminous and unexpected joy. Moments that sneak upon us to remind us that life -even life during a pandemic - can be filled with inspiring beauty.

I was lucky enough to stumble across one such magical moment on New Year’s Eve.

Taking advantage of the surprisingly warm December weather, I made my way to the Carl Sandburg Home to make my favorite run from the hiker’s parking lot to the overlook atop Glassy Mountain. Once at the summit, the reporter in me felt compelled to ask some fellow hikers about their hopes for 2022. Amy and Jonathan were hoping the world would be a kinder place. Marty and Steve wanted to focus on the blessings in their lives and not the deprivations.

Murphy, Chris and Annika

I then walked over to a third couple - Annika and Chris - who were perched on a low rock with their happy-looking dog, Murphy. As I approached, I sensed a connection between the couple that is difficult to describe but impossible to overlook. Sitting shoulder to shoulder, they projected calm contentment with one another and with the world around them. I didn’t know them at all, but within moments I knew that I liked them.

Chris, 35, is in real estate development, and Annika, 28, is a Pediatric Occupational Therapist. Annika had moved to Spartanburg during 2021 to be with Chris and they had been dating for a little over a year.

When I asked them about 2022, Annika spoke of her new life and career in Spartanburg and the chance to nurture blossoming friendships. I turned to Chris and asked him if he thought 2022 would be a good year for him.

He sat in silence for a moment and then flashed a smile that presaged the coming surprise. He reached into the backpack next to his right knee and pulled out a small black box. “Well, I didn’t expect this to happen with you here.” I froze, astonished, as Chris got down on one knee and turned to Annika. She gasped and her hands rose reflexively from her lap to cover her mouth.

“This has been the best year of my life,” Chris began. “When I met you, I knew right away that you were the one for me, and it’s proven true. I always believed I could make a life with you.” Annika’s eye grew wide and she seemed to be crying and laughing with joy at the same time.

Chris continued, “Will you marry me?” Annika replied through her tears with an emphatic, “Yes!” The couple hugged and kissed and shared the most intimate moment imaginable - with me standing in disbelief just three feet away.

I’ve asked a lot of people a lot of questions through the years, but I’ve never experienced an answer as dramatic and as intimate as Chris’s proposal to Annika. It was the kind of moment that reminds you of the sweetness of life and the power of hope, love, and joy - all of which were embodied by the couple embracing and kissing in front of me. Being witness to their engagement was a blessing I could never have dreamed of as I jogged up the slope of Glassy Mountain that morning.

I learned later that Chris and Annika were introduced by good friends who were convinced that the couple would be perfect together. “Our friends had no doubt that we would spend the rest of our lives together,” laughed Annika. Their friends, as it turns out, were very prescient.

Chris claims that he knew that Annika was the one from the first time they met. Annika remembers another time shortly after their initial meeting. “This is kind of a crazy story, but we were sitting at his house with friends, and there was a moment where I knew this was it. I knew that this was what the rest of my life was going to look like.”

After a few moments of excited conversation with the newly engaged couple, I began to feel like an interloper and excused myself to let them celebrate the precious time alone.

As I jogged back down the trail, I thought about the confluence of events that allowed me to be part of such a magical moment. Life had conspired with time and place to remind me that there is much in the world for which to give thanks and celebrate. The joy of the moment, shared with two people I’d met just minutes ago, filled me with optimism for the coming year.

On this particular day, New Year’s Eve 2021, Annika and Chris embarked on a new life together, and I was reminded of the many ways that my life has been enriched by shared experiences with my many friends - old and new.