Up to today, nobody knows this. But our proposal was a COMPLETE DISASTER. 🤯
For years, it was a sore point.
It was a flop- no friends recording the moment. No amazing scenery. No bouquet of flowers or fairy lights.
Ten years ago, when Cliff tried to propose, a curious onlooker at an overcrowded cafe seated too close to us pried in, “Ohhh! Are you Cliff and Wai Jia?!”
When we left the cafe, buzzing with unromantic busyness, we ended up at a playground near my home, vexed.
When the teddy bear and an old ring I had worn while single, with the word “Agape” newly engraved on it, was presented to me- Cliff thought it was wildly romantic. I thought it was pathetically cheap.
I exploded in tears. Cliff was crushed.
We parted ways, hurt and angry.
Even with our love story that went viral, even with how God showed up and brought two unlikely strangers 10’000 miles apart together, our proposal really, REALLY sucked.
I hated that my once-in-a-lifetime event was completely ruined by Cliff not understanding what I wanted AT ALL.
A teddy bear? My own ring? Seriously?
Cliff was hurt that his sincerity was hurled back like a blow to his face.
The fact is- 10 years later, that moment doesn’t matter anymore. What matters is the moment-by-moment acts of service day in, day out- Cliff losing sleep to pick me up from hospital after my overnight calls, pulling night shifts for our babies, buying flowers for no reason…
At the end of the day, it’s not the picturesque milestones that make for a great marriage, as much as the depth of marriage that makes for a picturesque life together.🥲
If you ever felt crummy about your relationship status after scrolling through social media, remember this- what counts in the end is not the highs themselves, but the highs wrought from the valleys, the everyday mundane moments of life, strung together for eternity.
Ironically, years later, Cliff custom-made me a sapphire ring. I couldn’t wear it, or any ring for that matter, because of my sensitive skin! 🤯
The bottom line? What we want or expect, often isn’t what matters in a solid marriage. Focus on what counts.