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Growing Together. Better Together. ♥

It all started with this:





Now, it's this:





It has been three long years of friendship, travel, food, and mission. Not perfect, not exempt from quarrels and misunderstandings. There are disappointments and sometimes things get worse that you can't help but wonder if the relationship will still work or if it's already time to give up and let go.

It happens to all love stories. The difference lies in how the people involved respond to the circumstances. Many articles have been written to help couples deal with each other and create a lasting relationship, most of which I have already read. But nothing beats the lessons learned from personal experience. And so, before 2013 ends, let me share the most important love lessons I will carry to make 2014 better, brighter, lovelier! ♥

1. Let God write your story but please cooperate with Him. It's one thing to say that God writes your story, but it's another to actually entrust your whole life to Him and allow Him to take over by being cooperative. In Filipino, "huwag matigas ang ulo." (Don't be hard-headed.) If we trust that God has the best plans for us, then we won't insist our own plans, then we won't dictate the timing. We will just cooperate with whatever God says, full of faith and confidence that His script is way better than ours.

2. Family and friends are very very important. Some sing "you and me against the world" and actually mean it because their families and friends did not approve their relationship. I'm not saying that the people in your circle are the ones to decide for you. At the end of the day, it will still be YOUR choice and YOUR decision. All I'm saying is, you have to hear what they have to say. Family and friends are gifts from the Lord. They love you and would only want what is best for you. It won't hurt if you consult them especially before making your biggest decisions. In our case, and I gratefully tell this, our families and friends keep us stronger, together.

3. Love (read: 1 Corinthians 13) is the answer. This is the bottom line. Love is patient. Love is kind. Need I say more? If that isn't enough, then replace LOVE with GOD. :)

Fr. Benedict once told me that God will not send me a partner to help me get through life. Rather, He will give me someone with whom I can share life and with whom I can grow. He gave me Lawrence - a man who writes, who dreams, and who lives his dreams. :)

It's not always easy and sometimes life can be deceiving... but... without a doubt... it's always better when we're together. ♥

Talk about growing together... literally. :)

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