Paul and CJ met some time and working in the same office building in 2017 but became friends in 2018. Paul would always say "Hi" or "Hello" to CJ and admitted to have crush on her upon learning that she is also an "Ilocana" and they are from the same province.

Paul invited CJ for a lunch at the nearby mall to discuss a renovation he wanted to make at their home in the province and from then on, their friendship began. Paul would always give CJ pasalubong like "tupig" and buy her coffee and snacks. But they separated ways when Paul got transferred back to an office in Makati.

CJ also discussed about her faith as christian and she wanted their relationship to begin with the Lord if their goal is marriage. Paul started to attend in a church at Makati and then the CoVid 2020 pandemic hit and a lot of hardships and trials come along the way.

In August 2021, Paul's grandmother died at the same time that CJ's Tito and two (2) cousins died. After that Paul was hospitalized because he was paralyzed for four (4) days due to hypokalemia (low level of potassium in the blood) and because of that their faith in the Lord grew together. They would always pray together and listen to worship songs together.

Paul proposed in December 9, 2023 after their anniversary and they both prayed for it and knew it was time. There had been confirmation from God and they prayed about it first day in January 2024 at the prayer mountain at Antipolo.

Some couples took shortcuts but they went through the process to see and confirm if it was really God's will. They also decided to take a 9-session pre-marital counselling for three (3) months being offered by the church and went to a "pre-marriage" retreat for two (2) days. Madami daw kasi naghihiwalay during wedding preps. And just before the prenuptial photoshoot, they also asked God's blessing to be with them.

Last August 26, 2024 (their prenuptial photoshoot), they prayed for a good weather. A day before that, it was raining hard. It was also consistently raining for the last few days. Weather prediction also indicated that there was an 80% chance that it would rain that day. But their specific prayer request was for God to hold the rain from their waking to their sleeping.

And guess what? Hindi umulan the whole day. Nagkataon lang ba? No. They believed it was God after all confirming His blessing and His presence to be with them.

They truly believed that God has answered their prayer even in small ways and that He would also be with them in their marriage just like He did for the last six (6) years. And all the fears, of abandonment, of betrayal. of separation, they know that God would take all those fears away and bind them together if they put their eyes on Him. They know they can also truly love because He loved them first. (1 John 4:19)

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