We first crossed paths in 2011 at Pacific Union College, a brief encounter that slipped quietly into memory.

Life, as it often does, carried us along separate paths, Christian toward medical school, Julia toward her Master's degree and work in biotech research, each of us growing, learning, and becoming... though entirely apart.

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Years unfolded before time drew us near again. By then, Julia had entered medical school, certain of her calling in psychiatry. Christian, newly established in his surgical practice, happened, by rare alignment of schedules and circumstance, to be able to offer a brief shadowing opportunity. Julia nearly cancelled, hesitant to travel and unsure of its purpose, until a nudge from her mother suggested that perhaps God had something planned beyond her expectations. So she went. For three days, she observed Christian at work and confirmed what she already knew: surgery was not her future. Yet in those same days, something else took root, something neither had anticipated.

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After an especially long day, we went out to dinner, unaware we were stepping into the beginning of our story. When Julia returned home from Las Vegas, Christian was unwilling to let the moment fade and ordered a Nintendo Switch less than a week later, offering to play Mario Kart with Julia as an excuse to keep talking, laughing, and lingering a little longer...

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What followed was a year defined by distance and devotion, cross-country flights, shared holidays, and a growing certainty that time, at last, had aligned us exactly where we were meant to be. After Julia’s graduation from medical school, Christian asked her to be his wife. She said yes, and in that moment, all the years before found their meaning.