To those wondering if they should ask God for signs, let me share Verns Buckley's blog entry about her love story...
"The meeting...
Derrick and I met at a time we didnt really expect. both of us were
single and making big changes in our lives. He was moving back to the
Philippines after 10 years in the states, and i was deciding on making
Philippines my homebase and slowly laying low from my career after 8
colorful years. We first met in Kitchen, Greenbelt 3 around September
of 2005. A friend of mine, Elaine was in town (manila) from Cebu and
so we met up in Kitchen for lunch where i met Carissa. Shortly after
Carissa mentioned her friend was going to drop by and join us, and
thats where i met Derrick for the first time. Thinking that the odds
of stumbling upon a friend of a friend again was unlikely, I didnt
remember his name or our conversation. I just remembered there was a
guy there. Thats because after that lunch, we all went our separate
ways.
The Meeting..again....
Gloria Jeans coffeechop, Glorietta 3. Around the last week of November
2005. I had weekly Bible study outreach sessions with my friends
Lance, Kitty and Jay, along with about 20-30 people on a good night
(thanks to lou and the gang! yea!). That night, one of our bible
studymates-Fretzel, came in late, but earlier that evening she already
mentioned she was bringing along a friend who wanted to meet me. So
sure enough, halfway finished with our Bible study, Fretzel arrives
with guess who?
Derrick!!! sweaty from walking from a far away
parkinglot wearing an "oh-my-gosh-what-am-i-doing-here" grin! He walks
straight to the cash register...took forever to buy a drink, after
getting his drink, goes to the bathroom, was in there for about an
hour before emerging all sweaty still. He settles in the back of the
group trying his best not to be noticed. Little did he know we were
all waiting for him.hehe. So he joined in our discussion without
discussing anything and merely saying "no comment" when asked for his
biblical opinions. when the Bible study was over and little chitchats
here and there, i finally got to Derrick and introduced myself and
asked him what he thought of the session. Meanwhile Fretzel was there
the whole time and finally lunged at a moment for a dinner invitation
since it was my birthday a few days ago. So from Greenbelt 3 we all
(Derrick, Fretzel and Aya) walked to Derricks car which was parked all
the way in greenbelt, stopping only for some fishballs. And thats when
this conversation came after asking him a question: "You already asked
me that before" Derrick said to me "I did? when?" i asked confused.
"Yea, when we first met in Greenbelt months ago with Carissa and
Elaine"he answered. "oh! I already met u before??" i asked
embarrassed. I had to apologize. He really didnt register in my radar.
And until this day, i still cant remember our conversation in kitchen
at all! just the fact there was a guy there and he was Carissa's
friend! hehe. I immediately felt comfortable and let some of my guard
down since we already met before and i obviously dont have any bad
memories about him, he must be safe. Plus the fact that he's from Cebu
too. and so we went on our dinner that night, and me--not suspecting a
thing!!
I have to mention that as Christmas was approaching me and my friend
Terence were selling cheesecakes for 1000 pesos. It was quite pricey,
thats because people that bought them were mostly my sutors and theyd
buy not just one but sometimes 3 cakes without complaining about the
price just to impress me. And so anyway, the next day after meeting
Derrick, i was cutting across Greenbelt to get to my condo when i saw
Fretzel again. She said "Verns! why didnt you reply to Derricks text?
he's worried that he said or did something bad that your ignoring
him!" "Huh? i didnt get any text from him! did u give him the right
number?" i asked. Sure enough she did! and after correcting it i get a
text from Derrick--Ordering cheesecake!!(sucker!)
and thats where it all started....we started watching movies together
and going out to dinner. He'd surprise me by taking me all the way out
somewhere just to go fishing and enjoying nature, swim in the beach.
And then another beautiful surprise came. He told me to pack up some
beach clothes coz he was taking me somewhere. I had no idea where
until we got to the airport. He was taking me to Cebu. To make the
story short, we got on his boat where he took me to this sandbar in
the middle of nowhere which only comes out on a lowtide. So that trip
had to be planned. On the sandbar he asked me to be his girlfriend....
if i said no, he said he'd leave me there! hehe.and so December 10,
2005, we officially became boyfriend-girlfriend. days later he tells
me that after he met me for the first time in kitchen, He had been
trying find a natural way of making us meet again. Perhaps he knew my
history of fleeing wierd pursuers. and whoever can help him do this,
gets a British bulldog...i guess fretzel got that one!
The Proposal...
when your in love...sometimes you dont know if what u have is right or
wrong. Alot of times, what you see isnt what other people see. And
when something is so good and everything feels right, you can never be
sure because i guess sometimes we anticipate it to end, and we wanna
make sure were bracing for something. Thats how it was with
Derrick...Weve only been together for a few months,and everything
seemed perfect. We loved each other., we knew how to deal with each
other and to communicate, but then still, how can i be sure this
really was the person God had planned for me. When i felt like our
relationship was going to take another step forward, i started to
seriosly pray about it. I nrmally never ask God for signs...but this
time i was stubborn. i asked for 5 butterflies. it can be anything! as
long as its butterflies and if i get 5 then thats how ill know God
approves and im not just thinking he does.
-I went to an ATM machine in the middle of busy Makati and a huge
butterfly was perched on the letter B of BPI...without a doubt that
was butterfly number 1. How wierd for a big bright blue and red
butterfly to be perched in the middle of a busy city. It wouldnt have
reached that size!
-Derrick surprised me again, and brought me to San Francisco. I left
him to shop in his favorite store and i was next door. When i came
back he was wearing this shirt and he says "love, what do u think of
this shirt?...i like it and all but... theres this huge butterfly
print in the back!" he said turning around to show me a yellow
butterfly print the size of my hand. I couldnt help but laugh!
-We went to a park while in San Francisco. It was my first time there
so he was showing me around... "i wanna take u someplace! its so nice
im sure youll like it!" Derrick tells me. But i wasnt really in any
mood to go anywhere more so i asked him to just tell me where we were
going and that if we can do it some other time. He later tells me he
wanted to take me to the Butterfly garden.... now u see i dont know if
that counts as number 3. But i just remembered it anyway.
-Back in manila, we were having dinner with Derrick's folk at their
home. I was playing with their pet parrots outside when i saw a
butterfly playing with the evening breeze and amongst the plants. Ive
never seen a butterfly at night.. was that number 3 or 4???
-After Derricks cruise to Alaska with his family, we arrive in his
condo together, i spent the whole month with my family in Cebu. When
we entered the door, i lloked toward the glass window of the kitchen
door and outside the window---on the 33rd floor was the biggest
butterfly ive ever seen! it was perched right outside our window, the
size of my 2 hands joined together. It was dark so all i can make out
was its red and yellow color. i quickly called Derrick and he saw it
too! it flew away right after. lets just say that was number 5.
But somehow i was still Doubting it. I felt like i needed 1 more butterfly...
One day Derrick sursprises me again. He told me to bring beach clothes
again. We got into a plane, a car and a boat until we finally reached
"boracay!" he said it didnt look like boracay at all...but i didnt
really know any better. When we walked from the dock to the lobby,
there were 2 yellow butterflies playing infront of us.. in fact
playing all the way to the lobby (its Number 5!!!!!) meanwhile Derrick
kept telling me the part im familiar with is at the back and after
lunch we'd have to start our 2 hour hike. great! so i went to the
bathroom, when i got back Derrick was sitting on a sofa in the lobby
sipping some welcome drink. I sat next to him and the receptionist
settled infront of us and said "welcome to PALAWAN!!!" i nearly choked
on my drink. "I'm where??" i asked not believing it. Never in my life
did i think id come to Palawan and it was so beautiful!!!! We stayed a
couple of days. We went snorkeling and everything u could possibly do
in a beautiful beach such as El Nido. Then one night, there werent any
stars but the breeze was nice and cool. Pefect for dinner for two in
the Garden. Derrick led me to a beautiful setting. It was a very
private part of the resort. Surrounded by flowers and trees. and
nothing there but a candlelit table set for 2 with soft lovesongs
playing in the background. There was a butler there to serve us as
well. I felt my heart begin to jump....could this be it??? night he
proposes??? i was getting excited, but i tried to calm myself down in
case there wasnt any proposal. Because Derrcik does things like these.
He's very romantic and just does things spontaneously and with great
taste. And sure enough...no proposal came that night.It was just a
beautiful night. I guess i was a little disappointed because it was
the perfect moment. But then i said to myself, i shouldnt get my hopes
up. i was thankful to experience such a romantic dinner. Ive never had
that in my life. And as for a proposal, i felt that maybe someday,
when weve been together long enough, a proposal will come. on our last
night in Palawan, Derrick told me we had to eat dinner in the resort
on the other island because it was a sunday and there wasnt any food
in our resort, and he warned me theres going to be alot of people on
the boat because theyr all having dinner there too. Sure enough, we
got to the speedboat with all the people in it. It was getting dark
and you can barely make out the shapes in the distance. Bats were
flying left and right just narrowly missing us. The saltsea air was
blowing on my face and int he distance i could see the lights of the
other resort. A promise of good food glittering so temptatiously. all
of a sudden the boat stopped. i panicked. Were in the middle of
palawan were stories of pirates seem so real and the waters are rich
in everything... including whales and sharks...or so my imagination
tells me. "we ran out of gas, but its ok, we just need to refuel. we
brought some here in the boat but we have to do it on that sandbar"
the captain said. As soon as we got to the sandbar, everybody climbed
out and me and Derrick walked around by the shoreline. It was a
beautiful night. The moon was so big and bright. It was the only thing
illuminating everything. the stars were glittering so beautifully. I
held Derricks hand thankful to be alive and be there with him that
moment. after a few moments, we turned around, and just over the small
dune i could make out a bustling of activity. "surprise!" Derrick
said. Right in the middle of the sandbar was a candlelit table set for
2. some symphonic orchestra playing from somewhere and torches lit
surrounding us in a circle. When i sat down it was like nobody else
was there but Derrick and me. The people on the boat with us Turned
out to be the chef, the butler, security and hotel staff. It was a
beautiful night. And this time i didnt bother to think there was going
to be a proposal coz i just might get disappointed if it didnt come
again. The chef made a wonderful 5 course meal. Derrick looked so
handsome as the orange light from the fire reflected on his face. i
held his hand the whole night. When dessert came, a man with a guitar
came out from the shadows and started singing ballads and love songs.
The butler came out shortly after carrying a huge bouquet of flowers
and nestled it on my lap. Derrick held my hand trying to say
something. I was so distracted. From the beautiful bouquet, the harana
and the yummy chocolate dessert, it was too much to take in..and
then... i missed it. I missed the question. I just felt a piece of
cold metal slip unto my hand. I looked at Derrick and everything came
together. He just asked me to marry him... but what did he say??? i
missed the question!!! all i heard next was "If you say no, your gonna
have to swim to the next island!" . i looked at the beautiful diamond
ring in my hand. It fit perfectly. and i couldnt believe i deserved
that big of a diamond! never in my wildest dreams! i forgot to say yes
until much much later. It was starting to drizzle. I gave Derrick a
big hug and kiss and we ran to the speedboat to get back to the resort
before the rain would pour down more. When we reached the Dock. All
the employees of the resort were there to greet us. "did he do it??"
one of them shouted. "yes!!" the captain said. everybody cheered and
clapped their hands and greeted a congratulations. Everybody was in on
it. I later found out Derrick had been trying to do the sandbar
proposal from the time we got there, but it kept on raining and they
had to pack up again. That night in the Garden was supposed to be a
proposal because he thought the sandbar wasnt possible anymore and we
were running out of time. But instead he tried his luck again the next
night, and everything came thru! That Garden setup completely threw me
off i didnt see the real proposal coming which was perfect.
a month later, August 8, 2006, we had a simple civil wedding. It was
just our parents and witnesses in the Mayors office in Taguig. and
then a year later... June 8, 2007 we had our church wedding in Cebu,
where we both are from.
Thinking back at the times. I still cant believe how things happened
so fast. That whole time During the Proposal i was 8 months pregnant.
and so a week after our wedding, Baby Skye came out and made us a
family.
Alot of times we makes plans in hope that it would indeed come true..
or that we really believe its the best thing for us. Alot of times
though, God takes the reins from you and decides to do the
driving..... so far hes led me to a place i cold have only imagined...
these have been the best years of my life... =)"
THE END
