I first met Shela, my beloved, on Saturday September 2, 2017, but our interaction was very brief. My house had a back to school party where tons of seminary students were invited. Shela and her two friends were on their way out the door when I happened to meet her. She introduced herself as, “Shela, it’s like Sheila without the ‘i.’” Fast forward to early January 2018, when Shela cooked bibimbap (Korean dish) for her friends. I planned to ask her out that night, after several other failed attempts. At the end of that night, I thanked her for cooking, and then asked her if she would like to go on a date with me. She said, “Yeah, sure!” So a week and a half later, I went on my last first date. And now we’re getting married!

Jeremy and I had had a very full summer traveling together and keeping up with our summer studies. We were in California for my dear friend's wedding, our final trip of the summer. After a lovely Sunday morning at church and evening enjoying a Korean BBQ dinner with my parents, Jeremy and I sat under a tree in their backyard to read Scripture and pray. Soon after "Amen," Jeremy said he'd run inside to get some water. But instead of coming out with a glass of water, he came with a tub, and a towel draped over his shoulder. Watching all 6'2" of him get down on his knees to wash my nasty feet instantly struck me with a profound sense of unworthiness. I wanted to make him get up, but Jeremy was showing me right there, what it is to humbly let Christ love me with such strong and tender love that would ultimately take him to the cross to give his life to save sinners like us. The rest of the story is that Jeremy asked me to marry him, to which I gladly said, "Yes." Yaaaay!

Our hope for our marriage is based on nothing other than the person and work of our Lord Jesus Christ. Our Father in Heaven gave us Christ as our example of laying down His life for His friends (John 15:13). Not only did He die and was buried, but He also rose from the grave! No matter how hard our marriage may seem at times, we know that Christ experienced so much worse on the cross. Just as He was carried along by the Spirit, so too will we be carried along by the Holy Spirit, and that is an encouraging thought.