Till Death Do Us Part

James is overseas again for his work, & as I think about him, I can't help counting...

We'd known each other for 8 years.
Our courtship didn't develop till 4 years later on 6 Feb 06.
We are married for 2.5 years on 23 Jun 07.

We started off as acquaintances. In the 1st year that we knew each other, we seldom talked & we are always with a big group of friends. I was quite attracted by him initially, because I thought he was physically attractive - he got a good body! ;) He also gave me the impression as a very nice & caring teacher in JAMs. However, our relationship didn't develop further beyond acquaintance, thus the attraction dies off. Soon, his friend came into my life & for the next few years, we remained as friends. At the same time, he also has someone else in mind. Over the next few years, we started hanging out together more, & gradually, he became one of my close friends too.

After my previous relationship didn't work out, we stopped hanging out together too. Both of us got very busy with our own lives. One year later, we started hanging out together again. This time, chemistry had developed unknowningly. When I first got to know him, I was a little girl still studying in NUS in his eyes. It was an impossible relationship to him. However, as we started hanging out again after so many years, I have already "grown up" & we enjoyed each other's company.

Yet, both of us had many hesistations in starting a relationship as we have so different personalities. It was our cell group leader, Lily, who encouraged us a lot & thus, we decided to give it a try. The beginning of the courtship was tough. We had many conflicts over our different personalities & perspectives. We had wanted to thrown in the towel. One night after another quarrel, he waited the whole night at my void deck just to apologise. I went down to see him only in the morning & I was really touched that he waited the whole night. That's how we decided to keep the relationship & work things out.

Our 1st date

Our 1st trip overseas - Genting

As the years goes by, both of us started to change unknowingly by each other's influence to be better people. I am now less judgemental & show more kindness to people. He has also become more decisive. Yet, we still remain different in many ways & I'm glad because our differences are now able to complement each other.

I'm the one who read the map; he's the one who ask for directions when my map reading fails. I'm the one who enjoy dresses Charis up & is always buying accessories & pretty clothes for her; he's the one who loves to shop around for toys for Charis & he even know which shopping department sells more varieties of toys. I take care of Charis' daily needs; he plays with her. In our spiritual lives, God speaks to me more often by His still soft voice; God speaks to him by His Word.

His SOT graduation in 2006

The planning for our marriage was a very memorable period in my life. It was also building fund period & James was in bible school then. We were financially broke, yet we trusted in God with faith that as we build His house, He will build us our house. I remembered tearing as we gave to the building fund. We have to time our bills so carefully with our little income, & to trust that He will not shortchange us for our wedding. It was a faith testing period for us, but God came true for us! Now, we have been blessed in our careers & are enjoying a comfortable standard of living. Yet, it is those faith testing times that I remember the most.

Our 1st honeymoon to USA

Our 1st Wedding Anniversary at Bintan Banyan Tree

Our first year of marriage was honeymoon period. We would often make time for dates & even went for a few honeymoon trips in a year! After about 1.5 years, we started to get so comfortable in our relationship that we somehow grew complacent. Our career & ministry also kept us busy. He's the one in this relationship that makes a lot of effort. He's always planning to bring me out to here & there :)

Our Diving Trip at Phuket

Our 5th overseas holiday to China

Today, our relationship is no longer the "sparks in the air" kind, but it is now more stable & mature. Of course I miss those sparks, because they keep the relationship exciting, but I also enjoy the gradual progress of our relationship maturing. We are now truly "2 flesh become 1".