Bethany McGraw & Job Hale

We can't wait to celebrate with you! In anticipation of the big day, we have created this wedding website to keep you up to date on all the details of our wedding.

(as told by Bethany)

DECEMBER 2018: Job and I met for the very first time on the 27th. He had spent Christmas with my sister Rebecca, her husband Israel Warren, and their two kids in St Marys, Alaska, and was supposed to have left already, but the weather turned bad and he got stuck there. I flew into St Marys that afternoon; we should have missed seeing each other by a few hours, but God had other plans :) I had heard a lot about him from mutual friends, as did he of me. Ever since Rebecca first mentioned Job three years earlier I’d thought he must be a sweet guy if she talked so highly of him!

Due to various extenuating circumstances, Job was in St Marys more often than not during my visit, enabling us to become acquainted with each other. The purpose of my trip up there was for me to see what the Alaskan winter is like, and given the fact that it’s the polar opposite of Florida where I was born and raised, I expected to be ready to go home after the first week. Instead, quite surprisingly, I fell in love with the cold and the village people and all the wintery adventures we went on such as moose hunting and snowmachining and taking walks in the snow - I didn’t know it then, of course, but God was working to prepare me for a future of living in Alaska. (Ephesians 2:10 - “For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.”) (Philippians 2:13 - “For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure.”)

MARCH 2019: Three months later the Warrens were down in the lower 48 to report to their supporting churches. Israel invited Job to experience sunny Florida and he decided it’d be fun to go, and if the LORD continued to lead as He had been already, he’d ask my father if he could start getting to know me. Long story short, he did ask, and received permission to do so. Our first date was to The Track in Destin with a bunch of my family. (He was able to meet my whole family then, as everyone was in town for my dad’s 25-year anniversary of pastoring.) He and I began writing snail-mail letters back and forth - we used Priority Mail to speed up the delivery - asking questions and learning about the other’s character and personality. Our average letter length was nine pages, and my parents read each one before we did, which, along with patience waiting for the mail, helped to guard our emotions. We had some interesting things happen to the letters, like them being misdelivered, or stolen, which added to the experience ;) (Lamentations 3:25 - “The LORD is good to them that wait for him, to the soul that seeketh him.”)

MAY 2019: We got to see each other every other month; the next time for that was in May. Job came down again and on the 21st we started officially courting. Basic courtship rules included things like staying two feet apart (no touching), never alone together, no terms of endearment, and only pre-approved gifts and photographs. This allowed us to build a firm foundation based on knowledge and God’s direction as opposed to deceptive feelings and desires. Having our parents’ counsel and oversight was so so crucial in navigating the unknown and was a great protection against us going too far. (Proverbs 24:5, 6 - “A wise man is strong; yea, a man of knowledge increaseth strength. For by wise counsel thou shalt make thy war: and in multitude of counsellors there is safety.”) (Jeremiah 17:9 - “The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?”)

JULY 2019: My dad and I went to Alaska to check out what life is like in the villages of Bethel and Napakiak. A few days there were spent doing things like boating to a nearby children’s camp, flying to a different camp to meet some of Job’s family, going fishing for silver salmon, fellowshipping with friends, and Job being ordained to preach. After that the three of us made the short flight to Palmer to meet more of his family. Job and I had a handful of good, honest conversations as well as morning Bible devotions that really assisted in sorting some stuff out. That trip was what showed each of us that God wanted us to get married, unbeknownst to the other. He knew when Daddy and I left for Florida again, and I realized it once I got back home. (Isaiah 30:21 - “And thine ears shall hear a word behind thee, saying, This is the way, walk ye in it, when ye turn to the right hand, and when ye turn to the left.”)

SEPTEMBER 2019: The week before Job came down to Florida again, he was taking off in his Cessna 172 when the plane got caught in a downdraft and crashed. We both learned a lot from that happening, and our Saviour blessed in so many ways through it, as well as being faithful to provide all the needed grace and comfort, as He always does! The September visit was a chance for Job and I to have fun together, seeing more of how the other interacted with people and handled different situations. Job had the ring then but it wasn’t the right time for him to propose. (Philippians 4:7 - “ And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.”)

This whole time we kept up the letter-writing. We each had started years before a list of questions to ask whomever the LORD would have us court, and there was a lot of ground to cover before taking the next step. Much, much prayer went into our courtship - from him, from me, from our parents and siblings, and from so many others who went to battle with us. And a battle it is indeed when a guy and a girl are in a relationship. Fighting the wiles of the devil is nothing to take lightly and he was coming on strong, working to trip us up and make us two more casualties of “the dating game”. (1 Corinthians 10:13 - “There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it.”) (Ephesians 6:16, 18 - “Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye may be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked. … Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints;”)

NOVEMBER 2019: Job’s mom came along on his next visit to Florida. Friday the 22nd was a day to remember! Eleven of us drove to a friend’s ranch to see the place and on the walk back from saying hi to the horses, Job got down on one knee and asked me to marry him. I was completely and utterly surprised when he did it but was prepared with the obvious answer: YES! He had planned it all out down to the letter, from me “setting up” us going to the ranch (Job had already asked the owner if we could be there), to what we were wearing, to who was taking pictures… How I missed all the clues that would have given away that Job was going to propose then is something only God could have done - and I am persuaded, He knew I wanted to be surprised so He made it happen! (Psalm 37:4, 5 - “Delight thyself also in the LORD: and he shall give thee the desires of thine heart. Commit thy way unto the LORD; trust also in him; and he shall bring it to pass.”)

MARCH 2020: LORD-willing, the new life chapter called “Marriage” will bring Job and I together for the rest of our lives. We will serve Him as a team better than we ever could separately, in the bush Alaska mission field that He has called us to. What joy, what excitement, what adventure lies ahead, more than can be wished for! (Psalm 126:3 - “The LORD hath done great things for us, whereof we are glad.”)