keeping the faith

"Keeping the faith". photo by Matthew Matchinsky

January 10, 2014 question is: "Write down something that inspires you today."

It is reading a quote by St. Augustine of Hippo (354-430), a theologian and bishop that got me inspired today. It says "Faith is to believe that which you do not yet see; and the reward of this faith is to see that which you believe." I have just experienced this to be true and now confident that nothing is impossible, just always stick to your goal and keep the faith.

The chances of me and my husband being able to get married was just around 10% at the time when we got to know each other.

For one, I was still married in the Philippines and in the middle of a bad family situation at the time. I am Catholic and there is no divorce in the Philippines and the annulment can take years and years to happen, if it will happen at all.

Second we just met on Facebook. I have a photography group in the Philippines and one of my suitors added a lot of foreign photographers to the group, like around 250 or so in one day just to please me, he was one of them. And knowing how people can be deceptive in social networking sites, it was a great risk not knowing him in person and vice versa. But he was in the opposite side of the world and had a fear of flying, too. He lives in one of the states in the U.S. where it snows plenty and gets really cold. I have lived in the Philippines all my life and had never wanted or contemplated living in a cold place. It was not even on my list of places I'd like to visit because in my younger years I used to join rallies against U.S. Imperialism and their bases.

When he finally got the nerve to fly, the next obstacle was getting me to the United States, filing for a divorce so we can finally get married.

On his birthday last December 2013, instead of a cake, he had a cupcake with 2 candles on it, 1 red and 1 blue. It was what he blew to make a birthday wish. When the flames of each candle merged together, he just knew his wish would come true and  we have kept the faith until it did. November 12, 2014, our hearts and souls were merged as one, his wish came true, we finally got married.