How I Met Your Father.

Hi my baby girl,

So I probably should have started all my letters by telling you this important story but oh well. Here it is now.

How I met your father.

If you haven’t gathered it by now, your dad is from Finland and I’m from Sri Lanka. So we are from two very different ends of the earth, two very different cultures. He lives in an igloo, while I live in a furnace. He is white and I am…chocolatay.

September 2007. I remember the first day I saw your dad and his family. It was in 2007 at Church in Sri Lanka. They had just come to our church and had started working in Sri Lanka and I was leaving our church because I was moving to Malaysia to do my degree. I noticed 4 white heads in the sea of brown people and I remember thinking, ‘I wonder who the new-comers are’ But that was all the thought I gave them at that time.

I left to uni, had a ball of a time there and in the summer of 2009, I came back to Sri Lanka for a holiday and it was also the 2^nd time I met your dad. 

September 2009. The youth in our church happened to go to the beach for the day. There were about 6 of us and it wasn’t hard to notice the quiet, shy white boy seated at the back of the van. I remember getting into the van and smiling at your dad and saying hi. The first thought I had when I looked into his eyes was , “He seems kind”

So we spent the day out and I tried, I really did try, to talk to him and make him feel more welcome in the group. What I didn’t know were that Finns are extremely shy when you first meet them. So for every question I asked, he gave me a one word answer. And after that I just gave up thinking, “Man, this boy is ruuuuude” But that wasn’t the case, at all!

A few days after our beach encounter, he added me on facebook (ah, what would we do without facebook?) But I went to uni and I forgot about him and he forgot about me. Time passed on and the following few months were both difficult months for both of us as individuals. It was a time in our lives when God was cleaning us from the inside out, getting rid of bad habits and getting us ready for something. We just didn’t know what. Also I had been praying since June 2009 for the man that I would spend the rest of my life with. I wrote down a list of the qualities of the man I would like to marry and I brought it before God every day. What I didn't know was that God was actually working on that list!

10^th December 2009. Daddy randomly writes on my wall on facebook. At first I was thinking, “Ok no boy just ‘randomly’ writes on a stranger’s wall. So either he is flirting or he is crazy” I actually told this to one of my friends in uni. And this was 2 days before I was to come back to Sri Lanka for the Christmas holidays. In fact, I wasn’t even supposed to go back for those holidays but I think God had a secret plan ;)

So I decided to write back to him even though I thought he may be crazy and we actually started talking about pretty normal things. We would talk nearly every day and we got very close in a short period of time. What I loved most about talking to daddy was that we talked about important things. We talked about God, the Bible, life, love, music, our pasts, our weaknesses and strengths, our dreams, our desires for the future. And it was funny because he liked another girl, and I liked another boy but God somehow managed to erase everyone else from our minds in that short period of time. And the more we talked, the more I realized, 'hey I like this boy's heart!'

However, in my mind, I was thinking I would only date this boy if there was a chance of getting married to him, but it seemed too much of a risk to take. Where would we both live? How would we learn to live with all our differences? I had all these questions in my mind so I would pray about that and share my woes with God, hoping for a sign. I even remember joking with daddy while talking saying, ‘Hey wouldn’t it be easy if the man I was to marry had a big heart or a sign on his forehead or body saying I’M THE ONE!!’ And then a few days later the youth went out to a waterpark and we were hanging out in the wavepool when I noticed a sunburn on daddy’s chest in the exact shape of a heart. I quietly freaked out on inside :D But of course, I needed more than that to know if this was from God or not!

4^th January 2010. My grand holiday in Sri Lanka had come to an end and I was planning to head back to Malaysia for my final and most crucial semester before I graduated. 2 hours before I had to leave to airport, your father tells me he likes me. Now what do I do?? So I gave him no answer. Instead I told him, I like you but God needs to tell me for sure if this relationship is His will or not. So we both agreed that we would spend one week without any kind of communication and we will pray especially regarding this matter.

So that’s what we did. But before that, we agreed to talk to both our parents. I was NERVOUS. I very sneakily wrote an email to my parents explaining the situation. I remember on that list of qualities I presented to God each day, I told God that one condition I need is that my father has to say yes on the first time I ask him. I wouldn’t need to beg or try very hard to convince him, because God needs to talk to Him. My parents read the email and they just said, ‘ok we will pray too’

9^th January 2010. This was the first day we spoke after praying. God had spoken to daddy and God had spoken to me and we decided, yes. Even though it doesn’t make sense to us, God gave us the peace in our hearts and in the hearts of our parents and we knew that if we entrusted our relationship to God, instead of trying to figure everything out on our own, this relationship would stand through every storm and turmoil. And baby, so many people said so many negative things to us to discourage us, but you must remember, the only opinion that counts is that of God's and of course your parents. No matter what you do or go through, use the word of God and His voice to lead, guide and mold your steps. Not the opinions of the world or friends or anyone :)

We have been together for over 2 years and we have been married for nearly 8 months and though it has not always been easy, it has been a blessed time together and we can’t wait to grow old together and mostly, we can’t wait to see you and hold you and love you!

some pictures throughout the years <3

Any kind of wisdom that I can give to you, my precious, from my experiences is this. Let God choose your husband for you. He will only choose the best and the finest man for you. Until then, don’t get distracted by other boys who will only damage your heart and body. Listen to the voice of your Father in Heaven and let Him guide you to the right boy. Keep your eyes on the prize and guard your beautiful heart. Give it only to the man you want to spend the rest of your life with. And yes, you may feel like you have to wait forever, but wait. It’ll be worth every single second!

I love you my baby girl. I only want to see you happy and safe.

Love and cuddles,

Mummy