Next time I come…
DRa has exactly 120 days before his big wedding day. He shares his story of how he proposed to his girlfriend. He’s releasing his book on the “5 Pillars of Manhood” later this year, which are principles he learned during his courtship with his fiancé.
When I saw Christi in the summer, I told her “Next time I come, I’m coming back to get you.” Long distance relationships are challenging. For example, learning how to listen well, compromising on a 17-hour time differential, and realizing that Skype is poor substitute for the real thing. But the biggest challenge for me was the time, the days that passed between us before we could be in the same space. Three months later, I found myself back in Seoul where I left my heart. This time I was on a completely different kind of mission.
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Christi and I looked forward to our weekend date. I told her that I would swing by at five in the morning, no questions asked. I only asked that she wore comfortable shoes. I was amped and barely slept. I caught a taxi at 3:50 am thinking it’d take me an hour. We got there in 30 min. So with 40 minutes to kill, the driver and I stayed out of the cold and took a nap in the car. “Ahem! Are we going yet?” said the driver. It was 5:20. I called Christi and she just woke up. A sigh of nervous relief, we both barely slept so we woke up around the same time.
As I waited for her to come out, I told the driver that our next destination was a “secret”, so please know ahead our next destination. But when Christi entered the car, he grunts, “We’re going to Gimpo, right?” It’s an airport, by the way. Trying to salvage the surprise, I attempt to divert her attention by peppering her with questions about her day, how she slept, anything to get her mind off the destination. Then he gets lost. It’s on now, especially since we have to catch a plane in 40 minutes. A couple of other close calls and we miraculously sat in our seats with literally minutes to spare.
We got bumped up to business class and enjoyed the sunrise in the sky. We arrived on Jeju Island. Having been apart for 3 months, I wanted to honor her like the lady she is, to have an amazing day of fun, rest, and catching up. On the island, we enjoyed the famous hot springs, went horseback riding, and ate Christi’s favorite meal. All the while, I colluded with our tour taxi driver to take her to “the spot.” After lunch, the driver nonchalantly suggested that we take a short hike since the weather was beautiful. Christi jumped at the idea. We were taken through backcountry roads, across farm fields, and up dirt mountain passes. We came upon a well-worn trail that only the locals knew.
The weather was exquisite. Earlier in the week, the island was rainy and windy in the mid-40s. But that day on the trail, it was a temperate 65 degrees with beaming sunshine, marshmallow clouds, fragrant flowers, and white butterflies in the air. I was practically expecting Julie Andrews to appear and start singing “The hills are alive!” As we hiked up the mountain, in the distance was a gazebo with a bench overlooking a cliff (totally unplanned providence). We saw Halla Mountain rising over us, the glazing ocean to our right, and the green meadows to our left. And not a single soul in sight!
After some time, I began recounting our journey as a couple – the milestone and lessons, how I remembered where I first saw her, the first time we ever hung out, how I pursued her for 18-months and not giving up, and how far we grew in the time that we’ve gotten to know each other. I shared how each activity that day held significance - flying representing our dreams of going to the nations, visiting Jeju Island where Christi was born, resting in the hot springs as a symbol of purification before God, horse riding representing being led by the Holy Spirit, and eating her favorite meal signifying how we enjoy sharing life together. Even the weather and finding this location was a blessing from heaven.
As I shared these things I sat down, pulled out a water bottle and a towel and washed her feet. Then I carefully pulled out the ring and asked, “I love you, and I love serving you. And I want to love and serve you for the rest of my life. Will you marry me?”
