Steven and Micah couldn’t have ever imagined, even in their wildest dreams, the story of how they would meet each other and where it would lead. To the world, it may seem as if it was destiny or fate that brought the two of them together. However, for Micah and Steve, being Christians by choice, it was no more than their simple act of faith in God—in believing He is always good—that could make their story real. Steven and Micah are not normally known to be the kind of people who follow society's social rules, norms, and regulations. They were both different to the majority of the world in the way their minds would think and how their desires are formed. Their unique and distinct personalities would draw each of them closer through every turning point of events. First, through their hundreds of hours conversing over Skype during long-distance days. Second, through their sincere and gentle interactions when the two were finally able to be together. In today’s generation where the interconnectedness of social media and the shifting of values and traditions have clouded the idea of what relationships should look like and how to ‘go about’ marriage, Steven and Micah feel like a rare couple who were naturally able to build a relationship founded in God’s word, wisdom from parents and elders, and accountability in their motives and actions to one another.

The year 2018 brought many trials to both Steven and Micah. At first, their circumstances didn’t seem ideal to begin any type of relationship as it was difficult and unhappy. However, in retrospect, had Steven and Micah been in better situations in their life, their hardships wouldn’t have emphasized the importance of humility. It wouldn’t have emphasized that they were each other’s gift, not an entitlement for self-serving purposes. Steven and Micah’s hardships now seemed like the perfect kind of soil to cultivate a fruitful relationship. During this time, they learnt an encompassing principle that stemmed to all relationships. They learnt to put the other person before oneself. They learnt to treat each other like rare treasure, given as a gift to care, love, and tender which can easily be taken away. In 2018, Steven decided to finish his contract with the Marine Corps after completing his 4-year minimum term. He expedited his honourable discharge in order to leave as soon as he could and he officially returned home to California on December 21, 2018. Steven grew up in Ukraine and went to a small, international Christian school. He and his family are missionaries with Grace Community Church and his Dad is a Pastor. Steven's parents still live in Ukraine, and Steven now resides at his Grandma Sue's house in Glendale, California. In December 2018, Micah went on a holiday to get away from work. One of these overseas places was the U.S. Micah and parents were going to spend Christmas and New Year's with their relatives in California. Micah's Aunt Gladys (or 'Tita', as she's normally called amongst Filipinos) works as a caretaker. Before Steven and Micah met, Tita Gladys was Grandma Sue's caretaker for almost a year. On December 23, 2018, Grandma Sue passed away to be with the Lord.

On Sunday December 30, 2018, Micah and her family went out for lunch after church. During lunch, Gladys remembered reading a journal that Grandma Sue's Aunt wrote and asked Micah (who loves to write) if she would have time to read it and write an adaptation of it, time-permitting. Micah was curious to read the journal and said yes. Gladys thought best to introduce Micah to at least one of Grandma Sue's children so that such a personal, family journal wasn't placed in the hands of someone whom they haven't met. So, after lunch, Gladys took Micah and the rest of the family to Grandma Sue's house to pick up the journal and have Micah meet some of Sue's children for permission. Gladys and the rest of the family arrived at Grandma Sue's house after sundown, but the house seemed empty. Micah and her parents returned to the car thinking that no one was home, but Gladys wasn't around them. Meanwhile, Steven had just returned home from a run. It had been a week since he finally left the Marine Corps after four years of service. Tina, a family-friend who lives downstairs, told Steven that Gladys is quickly stopping by and has some family with her. Steven would've normally stayed in his room but instead decided to say hi to Gladys' family to be polite. With Micah and everyone else waiting outside in the cold, the porch lights turned on and the front door opened with Gladys waving her hands for everyone to come inside. It was at this moment that Micah walked through the front doors with Steven standing there to greet Gladys' family that they first shook hands and exchanged greetings.

Steve and Micah’s first impression of each other was all but correct. Tita Gladys had already mentioned that Steven is a Marine. Usually this kind of statement would serve as an automatic approval for social standards, given the dedication, pride, and masculinity that go into serving one of the most rigorous branches of them all; the “Marine Corps”. However, Micah mistakenly took all Marines to be egotistical, domineering, and self-indulging alpha males. Needless to say, Micah’s first impression of Steve was her wrong preconceived idea of Marines. On the other hand, those who know Micah would probably think of her to be outgoing, bubbly, and energetic. To Steve, however, his first impression of Micah was that she was quiet, lonely, and distant. (Note: If there were any lesson to learn from this, it would be that first impressions are not always the lasting ones.) While everyone began taking their seats and introducing themselves, Micah decided to sit in the corner to evade the communal conversation that was beginning. Steve’s grandmother had just passed away… in the very living room she was in. Something about that warranted Micah not to feel okay. In general, Micah has a hard time, more than most, when someone passes away. However, it was in due time that Micah would eventually ask Steve about his experience in the military. After all, Micah has a degree in politics, and she was curious about Steve’s personal experience in the military. As soon as Micah made eye contact, she asked him a simple, obvious question, “So, you were part of the Marine Corps?” Steve looked delighted to have started a conversation with Micah, and with that, he left the conversation with everyone else and turned around to give Micah his full attention. this point, Micah couldn’t see any arrogance or ‘Marine-ness’ in Steve. Her second impression of him was that he was amiable, kind, and playful.

Steve also felt wrong about his first impressions of Micah. On second impressions, he found Micah to be cute, friendly, interesting to talk to and that she was confident and seemingly had it all together. Micah never dated anyone before Steve. She could’ve dated if she wanted to, as there were guys out there who liked her, but in the end, she wasn’t interested for a few reasons. Micah thought a lot of guys her age were still largely immature or didn’t share the same idea of relationships as she did. In essence, Micah wasn’t rushing to get into a relationship. She was happy to remain single until she would meet the right guy for her and whom she would be right for. While she waited, she would concentrate on her studies and career, taking it very seriously like anything else she commits to. Many people kept giving her advice to date several people to find out what you like and don’t like in a person and keep dating until you find the right one. This advice would always confuse Micah as she would say to herself, “I don’t need to date someone to find out what I do or don’t like… you can do that very well by being single.” It’s not that guys weren’t “good enough” for Micah. No, it’s simply that Micah knew herself, and in turn had an intuition about the kind dynamic her and her future significant-other would need to ensure a long-lasting, meaningful, and lasting relationship. She wasn’t looking for a fling; Micah held a traditional value that’s unpopular among her generation in that she wanted to meet someone to marry, not date for a long time only to resort to marriage because it’s the ‘next step’ in the progression of the relationship. And so did Steven. Two completely separate worlds, countries, and families, but Steven was bound by these same beliefs too. The only nuance was that he was concerned with the idea that not only was it unlikely that the right person for him existed, but that if she did, there was little chance he would be the right person for her.

However, that night of meeting, Steve and Micah simply clicked. For Micah, it was listening to Steve while he was talking to her parents, that began her interest in him. Micah started to sense that Steve seemed inherently wise for his age. In one conversation, Steve explained to Micah’s parents that there would be no merit in someone choosing to live sheltered lives due to the presence of fear. “This would prevent anyone from ever doing something new or experiencing any types of growth,” he said. (It also helped that Steve, without any precursor, suddenly told Micah, “I’m not an alpha male!” that fully convinced Micah that her first impression of Steve was entirely wrong.) On Steven’s end, it was Micah’s curious mind and the genuine sense of caring that drew him to become attracted to her personality, aside from thinking she was cute. He could sense that she wasn’t just asking questions to merely engage in small talk, but that he could feel the honest, genuine, and sincere care that Micah had for him. He felt her being interested in his life and his experiences, and this gave him warmth and protection that he’d never felt from a stranger before. He had never met anyone like Micah and Micah had never met anyone like Steve. As more time passed that night, and as Steve and Micah continued talking about their lives to each other, Tita Gladys had the journal in her hand that Micah had forgotten about and announced that it was time to leave. Steven exclaimed, “Aw, you’re leaving already!?” and turned to Micah and asked her if she wanted to attend the funeral the following day. Micah is afraid of cemeteries. She doesn’t like them, doesn’t enjoy them, and she feels ill being in one. As a general rule of thumb, Micah tries to stay away from cemeteries for as long as she can, no pun intended.

Not thinking about what Steve’s gesture could’ve meant as she was too perturbed about the idea of visiting a cemetery, Micah kindly declined. Steve uttered another invitation for good measure, “Are you sure? We have plenty of space in the car?” Still haunted by the idea of cemeteries, Micah didn’t know how to explain this to Steve without seeming childish. Tita Gladys suddenly interjected, “She’s scared!” Steve looked to Tita Gladys and back to Micah and cried, “Of what? Dead bodies!?” Micah smiled sheepishly and nodded. As Micah’s family started to head out the door, it dawned on Steve and Micah the idea that this may be the very last time they would ever see each other again. Both of them were accustomed to saying goodbye to new acquaintances, but it was somehow different this time. They felt dispirited knowing they would no longer see each other again. And even if Micah said yes to going to the funeral, they both assumed the inevitable: Whatever this was, it was only going to last only until Micah returned to Australia, and she was returning in 3 days’ time. Micah reached out her hand and Steve grabbed it and said goodbye. “Good luck with everything and with starting your university degree,” Steve said. “You too,” Micah replied. Later that night, Micah was making copies of the journal when two things suddenly hit her. The first is that the journal was rich in family history. Micah wished she could’ve better known the author’s family as to give a truer representation of the people in the story. For example, was the family loud? Were they a large family with many members? Were they comedians who liked to joke around? Were they serious? The second thought is that Micah couldn’t stop thinking about Steve!