Dear Boaz,
I want to tell you a story...
I want to tell you a story...
Once upon a time there was a man named Benjamin and a woman named Gregoria. They lived in neighboring villages and were introduced to each other through their families. One of Gregoria’s sisters was married to a cousin who was close with Benjamin. They became friends and eventually started to fall in love. But unbeknownst to Gregoria, a marriage was being arranged for her.
Now in those days, marriages were arranged by the elders of the village one belonged. One of Gregoria’s uncles was an elder of her village and decided to arrange for her a marriage to a very wealthy man. When Gregoria found out she would be married to a man she didn’t love, let alone barely knew, she ran frantically to tell Benjamin what was happening. Distraught, she told him that if he really loved her that he would find a way to stop the marriage from going through. Benjamin was quite in love with her and was repulsed by the prospect of his love marrying another man. So Benjamin consulted his father and together they devised a plan to rescue Gregoria from her arranged marriage.
Benjamin went back to Gregoria and told her the plan of escape. He would come get her during the night a few days before she was to be married and they would elope. He planned to bring his cousin and his father along with him. He told her to be ready and keep a sharp look out from her bedroom window for three riders on horses. She would know that it would be them coming to get her because one of them would be on a white horse.
The night of the rescue, she went to her parents and told them everything that was about to happen. They had no objections because they disliked the man her uncle had matched her with. They were also very aware of the love she had for Benjamin and saw no reason to stop the both of them from being together. With their blessing she waited.
She waited and waited, eyes straining in the dark, searching for any sign of a rider on a white horse. Soon, in the distance she began to see the outline of three men on horses. As they came closer to her window, she could see that it was none other than Benjamin riding on the white horse. They were armed with swords on their sides in case anyone caught wind of their plan and someone came to stop them. But they found no trouble and Gregoria climbed out of her window with her belongings , rode away and stayed with her sister for the night. The next day, Benjamin and Gregoria were married at the village hall.
The best stories are the ones that are true. I love telling my grandparents’ love story. They were happily married for 58 years before they died, 11 months apart during my middle school years. They had 7 children and their youngest is my mom.
Benjamin went back to Gregoria and told her the plan of escape. He would come get her during the night a few days before she was to be married and they would elope. He planned to bring his cousin and his father along with him. He told her to be ready and keep a sharp look out from her bedroom window for three riders on horses. She would know that it would be them coming to get her because one of them would be on a white horse.
The night of the rescue, she went to her parents and told them everything that was about to happen. They had no objections because they disliked the man her uncle had matched her with. They were also very aware of the love she had for Benjamin and saw no reason to stop the both of them from being together. With their blessing she waited.
She waited and waited, eyes straining in the dark, searching for any sign of a rider on a white horse. Soon, in the distance she began to see the outline of three men on horses. As they came closer to her window, she could see that it was none other than Benjamin riding on the white horse. They were armed with swords on their sides in case anyone caught wind of their plan and someone came to stop them. But they found no trouble and Gregoria climbed out of her window with her belongings , rode away and stayed with her sister for the night. The next day, Benjamin and Gregoria were married at the village hall.
The best stories are the ones that are true. I love telling my grandparents’ love story. They were happily married for 58 years before they died, 11 months apart during my middle school years. They had 7 children and their youngest is my mom.
On the days that I feel cynical and feel like we’re never going to happen, stories like this one gives me hope that someday you’ll be willing to fight for me and love me enough to do whatever it takes to be with me for the rest of your life. And I’m not really expecting you to ever literally be on a white horse or dress like a knight in shining armor… but if you want, I probably wouldn’t object ;-D Regardless, I think our story will be just as beautiful as a fairy tale because of course we’ve got the Author of the ultimate love story writing ours.
Ecclesiastes 3:11 says "He has made everything beautiful in its time..."
Love,
Ruth
Ruth
