Our love story is not a simple journey, ours is built on hope and faith, filled with God’s grace and love..
We first met 1997 i was 7 he was 14, we became churchmates, more than that, our families became friends, her younger sister was my bestfriend. Modesty aside, I came from a simple but well-to-do family, he came from a simpler one. Our love journey began year 2002, I was 12 turning 13, he was 19 turning 20 then.. for his age and being a man, it was ok for him to find a lover, but I was too young then, we love each other secretly.. but secrets can only be kept for so long, to cut the long story short, my parents heard of our secret relationship that caused us to part ways, no communication at all, I was grounded, I didnt hear anything about him at all.. he attended another church but one year after, he attended one of our housechurch’s anniversary, we saw each other, again, we found a way to love each other secretly, and again, my parents disapproved of our love.. the same routine over and again… the next thing I knew he was with someone else.. i was with someone else, but everytime we see each other, we just find ourselves falling over again… fast forward 2007, I was in college he was already working as a policeman.. I was turning 18, but he was with someone else.. we tried to work things for ourselves, but I just know in my heart, that it still wasnt the time for us. For how many times, this has been a routine for us, until i found my heart almost growing tired of all the inconsistencies and false commitments..I graduated college, passed my board exams, immediately entered medical school. year 2012, I was 22, I heard that he and his girlfriend then were already planning their marriage(which later on I found out to be ‘kwentong kutsero’ lang), it just crushed my heart, i planned going abroad after medical school and never to show up again, and just build a new world in the opposite side of the earth.. I stopped any form of communication with those trying to get my attention, i diverted my attention and focused all my energy in my studies.. until late 2013, I accidentally saw him in our church (our church has multiple services, and God allowed circumstances to shift accordingly, causing us not to see each other despite multiple possibilities for so long), he registered for and attended our church’s camp as I always did.. then as expected, we found ourselves communicating again. For 2 mos after the camp, we see each other, he was my company.. my heart was glad i thought my long prayer has come to pass, i was doing well in medical school, but man, was I so wrong, all of a sudden, out of nowhere, he disappeared, after a single indefinite text message, everything changed.. no more text, no more calls, no study buddy, no anything, it broke my heart to pieces, coz I didnt understand why it had to happen, I didnt understand what went wrong, i didnt understand why he left.. “ang alam ko lang, sobrang sakit”… i got distracted, i lost tract.. i had to take my removal exam in medical school.. i was so bitter.. my heart is full of anger, i blamed him in my heart.. i changed my number, i had my haircut, i had an overhaul, thinking everything was over between us. By God’s grace I passed my removal examination, i got back on tract.. i was doing fine, trying to convince myself that we are better off separated. But, 2 mos after.. april 2014.. I was turning 25 he was turning 32, as I was trying to move on, i received a text message from an anonymous sender saying that he was a secret admirer.. he used a new number, the text style was different but I knew in my heart it was him.. i was so curious how in the world did he find out my new number.. coz it’s only my family and handpicked friends who knew my number.. and i have warned them not to give anyone my number without my permission. I was feeling uncomfortable thinking that this will be another cycle of heartbreak.. i asked those hand full of people to whom i gave my number, who among them gave my number to him, but everyone denied, and I was so curious to find out. During this time, one of our churchmates(the groom being his bestfriend, and invitations show that he was the bestman) will be getting married and I have managed to think of all the excuses just for me not to go because i didnt want to see him, because i know myself more than anyone, and i already fearlessly forecasted that i know what will happen next if I attended that wedding.. but i had the change of heart,all of a sudden I already wanted to join and be part of the wedding, haha! Whew! I saw him from a distance, my heart skipped.. we had a little chat, and the rest was history. I went home after the wedding, We talked over the phone all evening, he explained how was he able to get my number and all, he told me later on.. that he got my number from my sister promising her that this time he was really sure and that he will mean this decision.. he got my sister’s trust in exchange for my number. He also told me that he had to cut our communication as he did with everyone else because he really prayed and asked for God’s approval if it really is me that he should pursue. This time, i admired him more, but the journey didnt end there. As easy as it was for us to get along, getting my parent’s approval was the entire opposite, it caused a lot if misunderstandings, but fighting for him was definitely worth it. What he went through just to get my parents’ approval was so heartwarming, and I cant help but cry everytime I look back.. since then, we have been together and By God’s grace, I graduated in medical school in time last april 2016, and I am currently in the last stretch of my post graduate internship. Last december during our annual church camp in Caliraya Resort Club in Laguna, he prepared a surprise proposal for me.. prior to the event unknowingly, i have been ‘mind-set’ that he must return back to Manila on the second day of the camp because they are being required in the office, two of our churchmates who are also policemen indeed returned back to Manila, so i was convinced that he really had to go.. the night before the proposal, he said goodbye so i really thought he went back to Manila, he even called me in my cp while honking the car’s horn so i really thought he was driving.. which later on i found out he only went to the car and went out to buy food and stayed at their room for the rest of the night.. the next morning, i didnt have any clue, i didnt take a bath.. as in no nothing, cause i was so clueless of what’s going to happen.. while going down the stairs, the kids were blowing bubbles, i asked my sister what’s with the bubbles, she told me it’s only from the children’s ministry.. so then we took our breakfast and everything was but normal.. the emcee announced that we have to go out for our annual picture taking.. so we went out and after we have positioned ourselves for the supposedly usual picture taking, the next thing i knew he was there, i was caught suprised, he proposed with morning fireworks and all! and my heart is glad, this time I know it’s true,I’ve never been more sure, there’s no turning back, we are ready more than ever. God has a purpose why he allowed this 15 year-in-the-making love story… Him, being a policeman, and I being a post graduate medical intern, we dont have much for a grandiose wedding, he can only offer so much.. i still dont earn even a single centavo, i am fully dependent on my parents’ allowance. I have my dream wedding in mind, but I can only hope for so much, being a traditional tagalog, my parents foretold him that he will have to shoulder all the expenses for our wedding, good thing he also planned to do the same..he told me that it will be his pride to give me the best wedding that he can afford with the limited resource that he has. During our personal moment after the proposal, he told me, “love I want to marry you, I want to give you your dream wedding, but this is all the money I have, you know my work, you know how much I earn, I want to give you the best, but i hope you can accept the best that I can afford for now”.. right then and there I knew what I wanted, what I needed, right then and there I realized the thread that separates wedding and marriage, and I told him immediately, “we will do the best we can to maximize what we have.. wedding is only good for a day, but more than that, i look forward to the days after that. If we have the simplest wedding there is, my heart will still be glad, because i know that after that day, when all the people are gone, when it’s back to just me and you, I know full well, that we can overcome whatever we have to go through, more than the wedding, i look forward to ‘marry’ you. I believe God will give us the right resources, the right people, the right connection in order for us to maximize the budget that we have. But one thing is for sure, I wanted to have the wedding that perfectly reflects the journey we’ve been through..” I have waited for this, i have prayed for this 15 years back. Indeed, true love waits. True love waits for the right person in God’s perfect season for His perfect reason. What we went through is hard, painful and we could have chosen to find an easy way out, but the more I look back, the more I realize that I wouldnt have it any other way. Thank God for His grace. We plan to have our wedding on December 15,2017 in Tagaytay City and I am so looking forward to spend a lifetime of more with him.
WATCH THE PROPOSAL VIDEO:
https://www.facebook.com/tintin.hortaleza/posts/260149994431215
Sender: Jezreelle De Guzman Domingo
Names of the engaged couple: Mr. Billy Bryan Hortaleza & Jezreelle D. Domingo
Target Wedding Date: December 15, 2017
When & Where the Proposal was held: December 27, 2016, Caliraya Resort Club
