Happily Ever After

Seoul Temple

The world could use a few good love stories! Today's media and entertainment industry promotes lots of "lust" stories, but few true love stories. We see so much about physical attraction. About living in the moment. About  focusing on your own desires and getting what you want immediately. These stories are so egocentric. They are centered around individual satisfaction and happiness, which in my view is the opposite of love. We have been blessed to witness the process of a true love story and it has warmed my heart.

If you have read any other posts at all you have already been introduced to our good friend Sup. We met him our first week in Daegu and have enjoyed so many wonderful experiences with him during our 13 months here. Sup is a fine young man. He is faithful to Christian values and the Gospel of Jesus Christ. He is also respectful to the traditions of his family. He treats his Buddhist father with honor and recognizes his father's place as leader of their family. I have so admired his ability to live true to his personal convictions and at the same time demonstrate such loyalty to family and tradition.

Several months ago Sup met a beautiful young woman. She is also a member of our church. They had a date or two. Then it became exclusive. Then they made traditional couples rings for each other. (Not engagement rings), but the courtship began. Soon they were ready for a commitment. It wasn't easy to blend family tradition with our belief about being married in the temple for time and eternity. It probably would have been so much easier just to marry without honoring tradition. In a lustful egocentric world they wouldn't have even been concerned abut marriage in the first place, let alone honoring their parents. But they have love not only for each other, but for their families and for God. So they waited. They counseled with church leaders. They counseled with their parents. They were finally able to find a way to honor both their own religious convictions and family traditions. They would marry in the temple first, then have a traditional wedding at a later date.


We were privileged to witness the beautiful bride and groom make eternal vows across a sacred alter. The room was filled with a few family members and many friends. The fathers are not members of the church and waited outside the temple to greet the new couple.  We all waited while the newly weds changed into traditional clothing (hanbok) for the pictures taken outside the Seoul temple.



After the pictures we gathered at a local restaurant for Samgyetang. A Korean soup which primarily consists of a whole young chicken stuffed with rice and vegetables in broth and ginseng. (Each person had their own whole chicken.)  It is traditionally served in the summer because they believe it replaces the nutrients lost by sweating and is very healthy.  The little reception was a joyful gathering filled with chatter and laughter, plus a few spontaneous songs performed by friends. The fathers had places of honor at the head of the table. They both spoke a few words. We couldn't understand all that was said but we could sense the happiness.

This story of two young people who fell in love is about so much more than what they wanted or desired. Its about their love for each other, for their family and for their God. I wish for them a wonderful adventure together. A life filled with the choicest of blessings. I wish for them a love story that ends with.... HAPPILY EVER AFTER.