Back To Where We Started

Some love stories don’t begin the way we imagine.

When I first met my husband, Noli, I felt nothing. In fact, I didn’t even give him a second thought.

I was 24, had never been in a relationship. No boyfriend since birth, as they say. I was quite obsessed with finding my “ideal” man. Noli certainly did not fit the picture I had in my head. At least, not at first.

I think one reason I had never been in a serious relationship was because I was too idealistic. I wanted the “perfect relationship” with the “ideal” man, and I had my own little checklist of what that was supposed to look like.

Then one day, I decided I needed to stop trying so hard to find love. Maybe I just needed to let life happen.

So I let go and focused on my mission work.

I was a missionary for a Catholic organization serving the youth, involved in different communities, programs, and events. I was happy. I felt fulfilled helping others and being part of something that mattered.

Somewhere in my heart, though, I still believed that someday I would meet someone who would share that journey with me.

I just didn’t know I had already met him.

It was through the missions that I got to know Noli better. He was also passionate about serving God and others. We traveled to different mission areas, worked together, and slowly discovered how much we had in common. We shared the same passions, convictions, and desire to serve.

It wasn’t love at first sight. But there was something about him that made me curious. I somehow felt there was more to him than what I first saw.  I began praying for him.

I had always been devoted to St. Joseph. Someone once told me that if I wanted a committed and loving husband, I should pray to St. Joseph because he was the epitome of an ideal husband.

As our friendship grew, I started seeing Noli differently.

He wasn’t what I had imagined my ideal man to be.

He was better.

Noli courted me the traditional way. Even before he proposed, he went to my parents and asked for their permission to court me. He made the effort to know my family and showed me that he was serious about his intentions.

We went to Mass together every day. Our faith was at the heart of our relationship, and Noli vowed that we would keep our relationship pure and wait until marriage.

Little by little, I realized that the man I had barely noticed at first was becoming someone very important to me.

Eventually, I fell in love.

Noli became my first boyfriend ... and my last.

Three years later, he proposed on his birthday. I still remember what he told me. Having me as his future wife was the best gift he could ever receive.

How could I say no?

Of course, I wasn’t planning to.

A year later, we were married at Santuario de San Jose, St. Joseph’s Church, fittingly, in honor of the saint I had prayed to for my future husband.

And that was how our story began.

Twenty-two years later...

When I wrote this story in 2012, we were celebrating our 8th wedding anniversary. I was writing about a love that was still unfolding, about the life we were building together and all the chapters still ahead of us.

Now, 22 years after we said “I do,” I see that young woman’s love story a little differently.

She thought love was about finding the person who matched the picture in her head.

She eventually learned that love was so much more than that.

It was choosing each other through ordinary days and extraordinary ones. It was growing up together, raising a family, changing, learning, forgiving, laughing, arguing, making up, and finding new reasons to love each other through every season.

It was never perfect. But it was ours.

And if I could tell that 24-year-old girl anything today, it would be this:  You were right to stop looking for your “ideal” man.  Because the man God gave you was so much more than anything you could have imagined.

Noli became my first boyfriend, my last boyfriend, my husband, the father of our children, and my partner through 22 years of life.

This year, we were supposed to be celebrating our 22nd wedding anniversary.  And while our celebration looks different now, I still want to celebrate what those 22 years gave me.

A love story I never planned.

A family I could never have imagined.

A lifetime of memories.

And a man who taught me that sometimes, the best things in life are the ones we never knew to ask for.

Indeed, what a beautiful gift Noli was - and still is - to me.

Originally written in 2012 for our 8th anniversary. Reissued in 2026, on what would have been our 22nd.