A Chance Encounter
The year was 2012. I was a fresh university graduate, job hunting and trying to figure life out when I met Valeria at the Iileka Rocky Crest home. It happened that Valeria was a friend to my late friend's sister.
For some reason, that particular day has never left my mind. We were hanging out in the street when suddenly a car came speeding down the road. What could have turned into a scary moment somehow ended up becoming destiny. In panic, Valeria jumped out of the road straight into my arms. I immediately felt her feminine energy, and from that moment, I never looked at her the same way again.
I did not tell her immediately how I felt, but later I reached out to Ambili and started asking him several "police questions" about her before eventually telling him, "She seems like someone I could marry."
At the time, Valeria was in her third year at university in South Africa. Eventually she returned, and after some time had passed, I started looking for her Facebook profile. Once I found it, I reached out and we started chatting as friends. The chats became frequent, and before long, I found myself waiting for her to return to Namibia just so we could continue our conversations in person.
Eventually Valeria came back home, and we continued spending time together. We started jogging together, and after the runs I would go to her place to help her stretch. Somewhere in those ordinary moments, without even realising it, I was slowly falling in love.
Growing Together
The year 2013 marked the beginning of both our professional journeys and our love story. I was blessed not only with my first real job, but also with my first love. Valeria became my first girlfriend, and together we experienced life side by side as two young people trying to build something meaningful.
We witnessed each other grow; from renting our own apartments independently to purchasing our very first miniature motor vehicles and our first homes. In hindsight, those were some of the most joyful years of our lives. We were young, hopeful, growing together, and building memories without even realising how important those moments would later become.
Like many relationships, ours was not without moments that tested us. Life took us through different seasons, and at times we found ourselves apart. Yet somehow, no matter where life led us, our stars always seemed to realign, and with every season came growth, maturity, and a deeper understanding of what we meant to one another.
When the Stars Realigned
We are grateful for the journey that has shaped us, and we are thankful to the Almighty, who continuously realigned the stars that first shone so brightly for us in 2013. Over time, we both came to recognise that this was a divine calling upon our lives. Over time, I realised she was truly my soulmate.
Wisdom eventually led me to do what I had always known I needed to do: ask Valeria to introduce me to her parents and formally ask for her hand in marriage. After a successful proposal and the blessing of both families, we wasted no time beginning preparations for our matrimony; the beginning of our forever as husband and wife, best friends, and life partners.
The Beginning of Forever
From my side, I honestly knew the proposal was coming.
Bookie is many wonderful things, but planning has never exactly been one of his strongest qualities. So the moment he suddenly started making dinner reservations and trying to coordinate plans, I immediately became suspicious because that is always my job.
Still, despite suspecting it, nothing could have prepared me for the way he proposed.
We had gone out for what was supposedly dinner with friends who strangely took forever to arrive. By the time our food finally came, Ndelineekela led the prayer before eating. What I thought would be a simple prayer for the meal slowly became one of the most emotional moments of my life.
He began praying not only over the food, but over our relationship, our journey, and the future he envisioned for us together. As he prayed, he spoke about love, faith, friendship, commitment, partnership, and family. At the time, I thought he was simply speaking beautiful words over our future together.
Little did I know, he was actually describing the meaning behind every diamond in the ring he was about to place before me.
And by the time we said "Amen," I opened my eyes and saw the most beautiful ring in the whole wide world. For once, the man who was never really a planner had planned the perfect moment.
Looking back now, we realise our story was never about perfection. It was about timing, growth, grace, and continuously finding our way back to each other. Through every season, God remained at the centre of our journey, gently guiding two imperfect people back toward the life they were always meant to share.
And as we prepare to begin this next chapter together, we are reminded that through all the highs, lows, reunions, and new beginnings, the foundation of our story has always been faith, hope, and above all else, love. As it says in 1 Corinthians 13:13, "And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love."
