As people enter middle age, their bodies no longer endure strain as they once did. While the children are usually still asleep, I have already fallen asleep. Over time, I have developed the habit of lying down with them until they fall asleep, then waking up groggily to complete my nighttime washing up. Last night, as usual, I woke at midnight, washed up, and was about to return to bed when I suddenly recalled a section in the first draft of my novel that required revision. Quietly, I tiptoed to the living room and switched on the nightlight by the bookshelf.
I was not expecting a big surprise when I turned on the light. A stunning bouquet of pink roses, surrounded by clusters of rose-red baby's breath, came into view in all its gorgeousness. Among the flowers was a small pink card filled with my husband's love for me.
I read each word of the familiar, warm handwriting, feeling its sweetness like honey. We have been married for six years of joys and sorrows. The qualities that first moved me still touch my heart today. My heart, like a tightly sealed well, was gently opened by him with fifteen love letters.
Looking back, I see God's guidance in our marriage. What seemed like coincidences were, in fact, part of His plan. We met at a Christian singles gathering called “Rainbow Covenant,” where there were over 100 singles. Among them, we were the first couple to walk down the aisle and enter into marriage.
By chance, I mistakenly assumed he was a staff member at the venue. Even more coincidentally, he was from Henan Province, where I had been attending university and had long considered my second hometown. Amid the noise of our conversation, he only caught the word "Henan," mistook me for a fellow native, and friended me on WeChat.
However, we simply saw each other as new friends and didn’t think much beyond that. During the confession part at the end, he confessed to someone else, while I was confessed to by another brother, with whom I exchanged gifts. What’s interesting is that, even after seeing me receive a confession from another man, my future husband smiled and playfully joined in the moment. After that, we had no further interactions, except for occasionally clicking likes to each other's posts on WeChat Moments.
At that time, I was the editor of a Hainan travel column and had been invited to take a cruise to Sansha City. Sansha was so beautiful that I took numerous photos of the blue sky and ocean, posting them on WeChat Moments. This caught the attention of Brother Zhao, a casual acquaintance of occasional likes on Wechat Moments.
He casually asked where I had taken the photo, and I responded politely. However, our conversation continued for quite some time. At one point, he even advised me to politely reject a brother I had been communicating with, someone with whom I only exchanged greetings about meals and good mornings. The brother stopped bothering me after noticing the hint. I felt a sense of gratitude toward Zhao for his help.
Unexpectedly, after helping me reject another man, Zhao asked me to dinner. He invited me to the library, gave me a book, and eventually confessed his love for me directly. My initial reaction was that he must be lying or simply a seasoned lover, but his sincerity was overwhelming. He shared everything about his family background, his parents, and his work situation with honesty, and the truth he revealed was the kind that could easily discourage anyone.
We prayed for God's guidance, following the pastor's advice. Having never been in a relationship before, I was slow to develop feelings in one. Additionally, I had a fear of marriage, so too much enthusiasm would have only driven me away. I remained in a wait-and-see mode regarding this unexpected relationship. He often asked me out, but I remained moderate. Growing up without a father’s love, I became wary and distrustful of men, which caused me to feel conflicted. For the most part, I rejected him, which distressed him, but he continued to wait.
He continued to wait and pray. After I rejected him twice, he would pray, asking God, "Lord, maybe she's not the one..." However, the outcome was always the opposite, and eventually, I agreed to go on a date with him.
However, it was quite challenging for me to open my heart. After praying for half a year, our relationship hadn't deepened; we had only become more familiar with each other. Seeing this, his pastor, Minister Zhu, invited us to dinner and shared that no matter what choice a person who loves God makes, God will bless him/her. This sentence alleviated my fear of marriage.
Later, we decided to take a half-month break from seeing or contacting each other, praying to see whether our feelings would fade or deepen, so we could then decide whether to move forward with marriage. During that time, he wrote me a love letter every day, folding each one carefully and looking forward to giving the letters to me. I also found myself missing him more and more, and gradually, I began to understand my feelings. When we met again, he handed me fifteen love letters, each expressing his emotions of the day and his missing for me. Finally, he unlocked the door to my heart through his old-fashioned approach and sincere heart.
A year later, we entered the marriage covenant, and three years after that, we were blessed with a son and a daughter. Throughout it all, it was God’s grace. Entering marriage requires faith in God, and after marriage, it’s essential to strengthen that faith, remember the sweet and romantic moments shared, actively express love in daily life, think of the good in each other when angry, and never mention the word "divorce." In the end, this leads to holding hands with your beloved and growing old together.
(Originally published by the Gospel Times, the article has been edited under permission and the author is a Christian in Hainan Province.)
- Edited by Karen Luo and translated by Poppy Chan
