Why do I get rather teary-eyed at weddings these days?

This past weekend was no exception as Kenneth & Grace, two incredibly faithful individuals, joined together to become Mr. and Mrs. Iao. Grace’s vows somewhat reminded me of this Grace’s as she had started praying for the man God would bring into her life since 7th grade.

It’s such a mystery how God sometimes unites the most unlikely couples and yet somehow they just … work … Maybe that’s part of His humor… or way of reminding us we can’t do it alone. These sacred relationships continue to work if we choose to work at them.

Many congrats to the newlywed! You’ve touched many lives as singles and we now look forward to seeing you bless others as a couple in the days to come…

In honour of the month of love, here are a few V-Day excerpts from DFH… Yes, some cheese but realness nonetheless. :P

02.13.95 No. 11
Dear Future Husband,
… Will you keep me waiting? Please not too long, okay? Happy Valentine’s, my valentine! …

02.08.96 No. 19
Dear Future Husband,
… Valentine’s is that much closer, and I heard news of a Sadie Hawkins Dance in which my gang of friends are concocting preposterous ideas. Of course, crushless me is excluded. Sadness. I still dream of roses, candlelight dinners, soft music, and a heart full of love. Here’s to the fulfillment of those dreams! One day. Only you. …

02.17.00 No. 62
Dear Future Husband,
… V-Day week! My first Valentine’s a.b. (after breakup). Was it Happy SAD (Single Awareness Day)? In my moments of loneliness, I was telling my friends how our hopes and dreams dwell not in a guy … but in God and God alone. For we cannot forget the ultimate Valentine that was given us two millennia past in the form of a God-man who forsake (forsook?!) all His rights … shed innocent blood … that we might not only have life but life more abundantly. Now that’s true love. And it really goes deeper than a dozen roses, boxes of chocolates, or bunches of balloons.

It’s kinda funny reading past entries, finding in them the yearning desires of a hopeless romantic: a girl in love with being in love (a.k.a., me!) wanting all these things, thinking they would fulfill me beyond my wildest dreams. Surely then I’d be happy. Now I’m thinking—I’ve had all these things given to me by a guy, yet I am not satisfied in the ways I thought I would be. For now I am convinced that it is He … He that completes me. May He always be my All in All. …

02.16.01 No. 78
Dear Future Husband,
… Happy belated Valentine’s Day, my sweet valentine! I long for the day we can spend the 14th of February together, year in and year out. …

And by His grace, that we are… This year, it was snowboarding in Banff. :)

My husband and I got to serve students in music + media at an Epic Anthology conference this past weekend.

Besides being reminded of our agedness and seemingly light years from collegedom (haha), it was a blessing, especially as I reflected on the theme of anthology and story — how the Author of Life uniquely places each of us in {ever-changing} places and settings and roles to live and play out.

May it be our glorious passion to weave legacies of faith, story by story by story into His Great Anthology.