LOVE AT FIRST SIGHT

The sun was beginning to dip behind the row of houses as I drove around on a Friday afternoon on April 15th, frustrated. I was traversing through Compton, a particularly tough neighborhood in Los Angeles County. I circled, stopped, and passed through neighborhoods as I desperately searched for the volunteer location where I had been twice before, serving the youth through a program put on by BIOLA University where I attended.

Not only was I notorious for getting lost, I was also notorious for being unprepared. I preferred to wing it when it came to directions, enjoying the thrill of finding a location even though I wasn’t exactly sure where it was. Crazy maybe, but it usually worked.

I stopped at another traffic light and flipped open my phone. No one had called wondering where I was. I was new to the ministry and had forgotten to procure anyone’s contact information. I quickly scrolled through my list of contacts and came to my roommate’s name.

I paused as I wondered how she was faring at the annual Intercultural Studies get-together. The event was held in one of our professor’s backyards. There was a BBQ, a time of singing, sleeping under the stars, and plenty of socializing. I had planned to attend the event late, once my evening in Compton was complete.

I checked the clock. I was already almost forty-five minutes late to help the youth. Decided, I changed course from the neighborhoods to the freeway.
I made it to the BBQ as the grilled hot dogs and hamburgers were being passed out. I grabbed some grub and found a spot on one of the many blankets laid out on the grass for the event. Nearing the end of my sophomore year as an Intercultural Studies Major, I knew a good majority of the students at the event. So when a tall, dark, and handsome young man I had never met before grabbed a corner of the blanket I was sharing with two other girls, I was intrigued.

We introduced ourselves, and he proceeded to try and stump us with a challenging mystery riddle. After five minutes of musing, the two other girls I was with left the blanket to get some more food. I, on the other hand, was hooked. I was determined to unlock the riddle and even more determined to get to know the riddler.

Finally, I solved the riddle. Impressed by my persistence, he began to question me about myself. I did the same. We discovered that we had very similar backgrounds, had similar likes and dislikes, and as far as life direction went, we were heading down the same road.

Very soon, I was unaware that anyone else was at the event. All I could see and hear was him: his dark, curly hair; intense eyes; strong voice; and amazing heart. No one disturbed us for the remainder of the evening. We sat in our small corner by the fire pit and talked for eight hours straight, sharing with each other about our life experiences and discussing things. It was so natural that I was forced to sit back several times and shake my head. I couldn’t believe that we had just met!

I started nonchalantly questioning him regarding the things that I had on my checklist of attributes that I was looking for in a husband. As he successfully passed point after point, the exuberant joy in my heart began to stretch.

It was two AM and more than a few people had already dozed off for the night, snuggling in a sleeping bag on the grass or slipping into one of the many tents spread out on the lawn. I wasn’t ready to say good night yet. I was confident that if I did, this dream guy would disappear as quickly as the morning fog. I suggested that we stay up until the sun rose, something I had always wanted to do. We could sit by the fire pit and continue our conversation. Unfortunately, he didn’t think it was as good of an idea as I did. He said goodnight and meandered to the back half of the lawn. I unrolled the sleeping bag I had brought and pulled it as close to the fire pit as possible, staring into the stars as I drifted off to sleep.

I woke up as the sun drenched my face with light. I blinked my sleepy lids open, trying to get a clearer picture of everything that had transpired last night. Had I been dreaming?

As the sun got higher, people started moving slowly out of their tents. I sat in the middle of a large group and cooked some biscuits over the fire. There was no sign of my mystery man from the night before.

Just as I was about to lose hope, I turned around and saw him, ducking around a large tent to join the early risers. I raced over and offered him a fresh biscuit.

Saying goodbye at his car that morning was hard. There were a lot of people at Biola, and I wanted to guarantee somehow that I would see him again. For some reason that I couldn’t explain, I was drawn to him like a moth to a flame. I leaned in to give him a hug and whispered, “Let’s not make this a one time thing.”

I went home that afternoon and wrote in my journal that I had met the man I was going to marry. I later found out that he had told his roommate he had found the girl he was going to marry that same afternoon. Seventeen months later, he asked me to be his bride in the same spot where we had first met. This time we stayed up all night and were able to watch the sun rise. Six months later, we were married. When people question whether love at first sight exists, I shake my head and tell them our story.