God works in mysterious ways.

I had an extra ten years of courtship after my marriage. How’s that so? Well, I think the first two years was obviously blissful as we dwelt in the beautiful world of love; we were just brimming with love for each other.

Parents from both sides were the first to get worried, maybe anxious is more correct, when no sign whatsoever of pregnancy was observed. That started us on the trail of child begetting.

That trail lasted approximately eight years, during which time, we cared even more for each other as we had a common aim of love in our quest for productive results. How to have a baby? A feeling of togetherness emerged as a result. Let’s just say that we faced the problem together. We went to the witch doctors and gynecologists together. Discussed the witch doctors’ and gynecologists’ diagnosis and acted in unison on whatever had to be done. As we listened to the wisdom of these people, feelings of anxiety, fear and uncertainty sometimes arose. Together, as a couple, we faced such feelings together and assist each other to overcome them.

In a way, our inability to conceive during the first ten years of our marriage was a blessing in disguise. It placed us in a position where we constantly cared for each, lived for each other in facing the relatives and friends. I knew of the pressure my wife as a woman would feel when faced with people questioning her capability to conceive. I always tried to cushion such pressure and in doing so, was ever so protective.

In His own mysterious ways, God must have helped sustained as well as taught us the value of love. With love, we went through life happily undaunted by the problems that were bound to crop up, especially from parents-in-laws, every now and then.

And we did.