Bernie was my best friend. We were childhood friends and I met her in church. She was two years older than me, so the disparity in maturity was more noticeable then. She was more responsible, while I was a playful kid. She was also my prayer partner who was patient enough to listen to my kaartehan, angst, and insecurities, while growing up.
We became each other's support system. We were just there for each other and became really good friends. We never went through the courting stage. Before I knew it, we were already exchanging "I love you's," which made me think "Girlfriend na kita?" It was then that we decided to date exclusively.
When she became my girlfriend and my best friend, I knew she was "The One," but we had to submit our relationship to the scrutiny of our elders and the church authority since we were being looked up to by younger kids as an example, too. It was then that I realized that we shouldn’t have an immature, maharot, and juvenile relationship. We worked and prayed and humbled ourselves toward each other to be God’s best.
On our seventh year together, I asked her parents for her hand in marriage–we had to do it right and honor our parents. Everything went well; she was my girlfriend for eight years and we’ve been married for 16. Today we share a partnership. We believe that what we agreed on as man and wife is very powerful. God notices the agreements we make together. Every marriage holds that kind of power if only every one who is married is concious about it.
*As told to FemaleNetwork.com
PHOTO: Pixabay
