2012.

We are on a precipice.

Every day presents the opportunity for us to take the plunge and jump right into the unknown, or to take a step back into the security of land. Every year, I try to push myself to break new frontiers, cross seas and set foot in new places, publish a new book, try something different.

But this year surpassed all other years.

Looking back,  the most amazing thing I let happen this year was to decide to take the leap and fall in love. If I could sum up all the amazing miraclesprovisionsgiftsmemorieslessonspeoplemoments that happened in two thousand and twelve in one single sentence, it would not be the publication of a new book, or appearing on the papers, or being invited to speak at a youth event, or visiting Cambodia twice, or raising awareness and funds for human trafficking… (though being a part of that was all thoroughly amazing and an amazing privilege…) but it would something else, something that encapsulated all that and more, something that required me to close my eyes and run and scream and go giddy before I ran and leaped off the edge of a precipice with blind faith into nothing but grace…

If I could sum up all the miraculous things and breathtaking moments of 2012 in a single breath it would be this: In 2012, I got married.

To an amazing man. Who belongs to an amazing God.

In 2012, I decided to love you and marry you. That, was the beginning of a chain of events I can only call The Butterfly Effect of Miracles.

Because one Miracle led to the next, which led to the next and the next, all through Two Thousand and Twelve.

 

My parents said no. You were too unqualified, too new, too much of a stranger. You were not rich enough, academic enough, or powerful enough. There was drama, humiliation, an ignominious retreat. We prayed. We fasted. You wept. You stood firm in prayer. Then faith blew their hearts open like an open dam, and they said yes, they opened their hearts and home to you. They said yes. Yes. Yes. Now they adore you. They treat you like their only son.

That was Miracle One.

 

But we had no place to stay. No money for the wedding. No flowers, photographer, or white gown. Housing costs were high, and even renting a single room in a simple flat at less convenient locations was exorbidant. We finally found a little room in a dingy flat somewhere far away. Then the tenants staying in a beautiful home just a block away from my parents’ home decided to move out three months before the wedding, and a beautiful three-room flat with a pool and a gym nearby was offered to us for monthly rental at a jawdropping rate. Our new living room wall is now a work of our own art.

Miracle Two.

 

As a little girl, like all little girls, I dreamt of a beautiful wedding. But we had no money to buy a gown, much less a white wedding. We finally found a beautiful gown which we loved (I have never seen your breath taken away like that when you saw me in that dress). But it cost $4000 to rent, so we had to let it go. At a later time at a different place, my father sponsored the bridal package, which for the same price included not one but five different dresses and gowns for two photoshoots and the wedding ceremony, flowers, three men’s jackets, a wedding album, accessories and a long list of other freebies. The studio took us to lovely places to have our pre-wedding photos taken.

Miracle Three.

 

We had no wedding day photographer, who are exorbidant to hire in Singapore. Then an uncle and aunt of yours from overeseas sponsored an unthinkable (at least to us) sum of money and a friend recommended his friend to take photos for us, who turned out to be a photographer for celebrities. He in turn linked us up with an international bridal firm who interviewed us for their launch of their new Wedding Stories section.

Miracle Four.

 

 

We wished we could share the story of how God brought us together in a beautiful way. But wedding videographers cost thousands of dollars. One day as we were talking about this and walking home from church, we met my junior from medical school with a passion for filming looking for his next project sitting at the bus stop. He made a beautiful music video for us as the prelude to our wedding ceremony.

And… who would have guessed that a week later, a professional videographer chanced upon the story of how we met, and made this beautiful video for us at no charge at all. Within days of our wedding, it went viral and we were stopped at Cambodia on our honeymoon cum mission trip by a Caucasian lady on the street who said she had seen our story on Facebook. In the end, we had not one, but two beautiful videos made for us, at no charge at all. Having a wedding over a long public-holiday-weekend meant many of our friends were overseas, but we were pleasantly surprised by the large crowd.

 Miracle Five.

 

The wedding seemed effortless nearing the end. Only because of amazing people who came in to help. Up till two days before the wedding I was still at work because there simply wasn’t any more planning or set-up left for me to do. Amazing friends and not to mention blog-readers (who have now become friends) came to help and pulled the amazing wedding decorations together. At the last minute, two friends we had not met for years came to set up a candy floss booth for free for the kids. I slept like a baby on the night before our wedding. It was as if a forcefield of love and protection was surrounding me.

Miracle Six.

 

But that wasn’t all. In the weeks leading up to the wedding, two people volunteered to sponsor the book “I love you” which I had planned to publish on the wedding day. Because of this, all the money we received from the books and our ang pows (red packets) on our wedding day could go directly to help a ministry in Cambodia stop child trafficking.

 

And of course, there were the little things, which to us, are always the ones that show us how Big God is.

The little girl in me had wished for a little white vintage bike for our wedding day. Online and in the shops outside, one would easily cost a few thousand to buy and a few hundred just to rent. Friends of friends offered to lend us what they had, but one was grimy, and the other, black. I couldn’t believe it, but the perfect bike showed up right in our basement one day. I left a card on the bike basket to the owner asking if we could borrow it for a day. Weeks went by without news. Then, on our way to Cambodia for a mission trip, I received a text message from the owner saying she had become pregnant and would now be very grateful to be able to get rid of the bike for a token sum of money. It became ours.

We had no wedding car. Then 2 weeks before the wedding a friend with a white BMW convertible kindly offered his services at our disposal for our special day, and a friend’s brother who has a deejay background offered to be our emcee.

 

We couldn’t find a venue to hold our cosy wedding dinner for our friends- a friend found a beautiful, private event hall for us, only rented out on a case-by-case basis. It was a gorgeous, classy place, where I never imagined we would be able to afford. But it came at a steal of a price, and then the owner then waived the cost entirely after learning about us giving away our angpow money to the charity. We gave him a token sum of appreciation, which he donated back to our cause.

Miracle Seven. (consisting of many miracles)

 

 My parents loved your parents who flew in from Canada. My mum became best friends with your mum. Your mum loves and likes me so much it’s unbelievable. She only met me a day before our wedding day. (Not to forget, my deejay cousin who hired her personal makeup artist to do up my makeup and hair before the dinner, when she didn’t know that was exactly what we lacked because I thought it was too expensive to hire someone but didn’t tell anyone about it. )

Miracle Eight.

 

Sex was Miracle Nine.

(It is beautiful and only right to wait till after marriage.) You are truly such a special man.

 

Through you, I learnt what it was to let go, and let God. I learnt what it means to love somebody, and to let somebody love you. I learnt that true love loves you when you are throwing a fit- it wraps its arms around you and repeats “I love you” until you settle down and never lets you leave through the door. I learnt that true love whips a rainbow umbrella out and waits for you when it knows you’re reaching the train station near home because it’s pouring outside.

True love gives you the crispier youtiao (chinese fried dough fritter- my gastronomic weakness); True love wakes up in the morning to give you a hug and say, “Hey I forgot all about last night. Where would you like me to take you to today?” after you tortured him till 2am the night before with tears and PMS; True love gives you a hand to hold instead when you ask to help with the shopping bags.

 I learnt true love endures all things, bears all things, suffers all things… including me.

In 2012, I took the leap and married you.

Miracle Ten.

 

 

In 2012, I learnt to love and be loved.

 

I believe in miracles.

 

Because you are a miracle to me.

 

And God, you are the Maker of all miracles.

 

Thank you.

*with special thanks to Ian Ho, Anthony Levi Kho from Let There Be Light and Samuel for the wonderful photos and to Cliff, for making 2012 what it is.