VENICE’S POV
“ What are you thinking?” I shifted my attention to where the voice came from, even if I knew who owned it.
“ Nothing,” I replied, then laughed, which made him frown. Shocks! His maturity is really visible in him physically.
“ Why are you laughing?” He asked and walked towards me.
I am currently here on the veranda of the church. As usual, I am looking at the stars in the night sky. We had already finished rehearsing the flow, and the food was still in preparation, so I decided to went outside to gasp some fresh air. It is because until now, I could not believe he was here again.
“ You are really an MIA,” I heard him say, which made me come back to my senses. I looked at him, who was currently inches away from me.
“ Huh?” I asked.
“ I said, why are you laughing?” He asked.
“ Ah, your question earlier seemed familiar. It seemed like it happened before,” I replied while laughing. I noticed how he partly smiled.
“ You still remember that,” He remarked and looked at the night sky.
“ Of course,” I replied and turned my attention back to the night sky.
I heard him fake a cough, so I looked at him, who was scratching the back of his neck.
“ Do you want to tell me something?” I unconsciously asked him.
“ Did the reason why you love the stars change?” Bryan shyly asked, which made me laugh.
“ What kind of question is that?” I asked while laughing.
“ Just answer it,” He insisted and looked away from me.
I could not help but laugh more because his ears turned red. I looked back to the night sky before I answered.
“ It is not that it actually changed. I could say that another reason was added.” I said while smiling.
“ From the moment I read the promise of God to Abraham, I deeply appreciate the stars. Stars symbolize promise for me. Even how long it takes until there is an existing star in the night sky, I will continue to wait and hold on to that promise. Especially those who God personally promised me,” I added.
“ That is too deep. It seemed like you grew that fast within that five years I was not here,” Bryan commented.
“ Maybe that is true. If you were in my position that you always beside a soon-to-be pastor, you would grow that fast too,” I jokingly told him.
“ I did not expect it was her calling,” He sentimentally replied.
“ Hey, there is a shooting star,” He exclaimed out of nowhere. I automatically looked at the sky and witnessed it when I heard it.
“ So beautiful,” I said in amusement.
“ It is really beautiful,” He replied. I felt like someone was looking at me, so I looked at him.
Our eyes suddenly met, so I looked away from him immediately and secretly smiled. My heart suddenly beats fast because of what I remembered. We went to a purity fest in another church extension three years ago. The last activity of that event was to list the signs we wanted to see to confirm that a man was our the one. They also instructed us to pray for that list so that when we met our second best, we could use that as a basis. I remembered that one of the things I listed was that we must be together and saw a shooting star. I wrote that because I really love the stars and the night sky. I could not believe that it was happening right now! Wait, I need more confirmation.
“ Venice?” I heard Bryan call my name, so I looked at him.
“ Huh? What is it?” I asked.
“ I said, let us go inside. It seemed like the dinner is ready,” He said.
I nodded at him, followed him as he entered the church, and walked straight to the dining area. The food was already prepared as we arrived, so I sat beside Monica. While eating, everyone happily talked about many things, especially Bryan. On the other hand, I remained silent while thinking about what had happened earlier.
“ Is there any problem, Ven?” I heard Monica ask as she whispered it to my ears.
“ Nothing,” I replied to her with a smile.
“ I do not know exactly what is running on your mind, but God wants you to know that He has his plan, and it is now the time to make it happen. Be at peace. It is Him who was moving,” Monica seriously said, which penetrated my heart deeply.
“ Thank you, Mon,” I gladly thanked her.
Monica simply smiled at me and continued eating her food. Until we finished eating and washing the dishes, those words Monica said never stopped running through my mind. It is the second sign I listed on my list three years ago. One sign to go, and it might confirm everything. Do not get me wrong, even if I was into him since day one, I still wanted to walk with the will of the Lord. That is why I am still anticipating what God is doing. Actually, no one knew about the signs I listed. Only God knew about it, so I am sure God will answer my prayers.
“ You are staring nowhere again,” I heard someone speak behind me, which startled me.
“ It is you, Grace,” I remarked after looking at whoever said those words.
“ Yes, why are you staring blankly? You are not on your usual self even earlier,” She curiously asked.
“ Grace, how will you know if someone is the will of the Lord for you?” I unconsciously asked her.
Grace’s face visibly showed how surprised she was, but after a while, her lips curved into a smile, which made me wonder.
“ Psh, is that what you are thinking about? Why? Are you doubting that he is the one God made for you?” Grace seriously asked.
“ Him?” I asked her in wonder, which surprised her.
“ I mean the person you are thinking of right now, are you doubting that he is the one?” She asked after faking a cough.
“ I am not really doubting, but you know, I do not want to commit a mistake because of what I feel,” I honestly explained to her.
“ Well, to answer your question. First, of course, remember what you prayed for. Remember the things you prayed for, like attributes, attitude and even signs. You remember the purity event. If you seriously prayed for the things you listed day by day, you can use that as a basis. It is because God is answering our prayers,
“ Next one is if you feel peace in your heart. Remember that more than the butterflies in our stomachs, we must feel a peace that we are sure he was the one God allowed for us. Third, he draws the best of you. Meaning you are growing with him. Not technically together, but if you are both glorifying God in your life even if you are not together. Lastly, I believe that if it is the will of the Lord, it is not only you that will know. God may use our leaders, close friends and alike to confirm it to you,” Grace carefully explained everything to me. I wanted to ask something to Grace when someone put her arms around my neck. It made me and Grace caught off guard.
“ What are you two talking about?” Monica asked and laughed.
“ It is because of your best friend, she is on puberty stage,” Grace replied while laughing. I hit her because of what she said.
“ Huh? Why?” Monica asked in confusion.
“ Mon, how did you know that Axcel is the one for you?” I asked her in seriousness. She became surprised then her face turned red. Shocks, she giggled.
“ You really asked me about that on the spot Ven,” Monica started.
“ Well, I think it was almost one year when God started putting desire to my heart to pray for Axcel. Then, when the pastoral meeting came, auntie let me joined there. The head pastor of our division talked to me. He said that I am not meant to be alone in managing the church in the future. He also said that God already put someone in my heart as my companion in life and ministry. So, even if I do not want to,” She paused. Grace and I laughed because of what she said.
“ If Axcel heard how you were narrating your love story, he would frown,” Grace commented between her laughter.
“ Yeah, right,” I laughingly seconded.
“ Well, it was also his fault why I did not dream of marrying someone before. Anyway, going back, I did not want it at first, but I still continued praying. Then, the rest is history for you both,” She explained.
“ Ahh,” I replied shortly because I remembered that the pastor Monica talked about is the same pastor attending the church tomorrow.
“ Why? Is he here already?” Monica asked in curiosity. I sighed because of what she asked.
“ Be at peace, Ven. You are inside the will of God,” Monica encouraged me and tapped my shoulder.
“ She is right, Ven. I believed that you are matured enough to distinguish the will of the Lord from the lies of the enemies,” Grace encouraged me too.
“ How about you, Grace? Is he here?” I asked. I grinned when I saw her cheeks turned to red.
“ Based on her reaction, it seemed like he is here already,” Monica laughingly replied.
“ Why has it turned to me? We are talking about Venice,” Grace shyly argued.
“ Psh, ayie,” Monica tease Grace while poking her waist.
“ What? Stop it already,” Grace remarked while laughing.
“ Ahem! children. “
Grace, Monica, and I looked to whoever called as children. We saw Axcel and Bryan at the door.
“ Who are you calling children?” Monica asked irritably.
“ You, three,” Axcel replied and started laughing. I gently massaged my forehead while Grace shook her head after Axcel’s reply. This two will fight later.
“ Really, Axcel!” Monica responded.
“ It was just a joke, hon, I am joking around,” Axcel nervously replied.
“ Hmp!” Monica irritably said.
“ Oh, stop it now. I just came back, let us be happy,” Bryan cut them off.
“ Be thankful, hmp!” Monica said to Axcel.
“ Thanks, bro,” Axcel thanked Bryan and laughed.
“ Grace,” We heard Jeremy call Grace, so our attention turned to him.
“ Oh, I apologize! Are you still thinking?” He added.
“ Nope, do you need Grace?” I mischievously asked while grinning.
“ Ahh, yes, I will send her home,” Jeremy replied, which made me smile inside.
Bryan and Jeremy looked at each other. As I remember, this two did not meet here in the church.
“ Ah, bro, this is Bryan, cousin of Monica. Bry, this is Jeremy, Venice’s ex-boyfriend,” Axcel introduced them to each other. I hit my forehead because of what Axcel said. It also seemed like Jeremy was in an awkward position because of the way Axcel introduced him.
“ Bryan, “ Bryan said and laid his hand.
“ Jeremy,” Jeremy said and accepted the hand of Bryan, and then they shook hands.
“ Jeremy is not my ex-boyfriend,” I corrected, but my eyes were focused on Bryan.
“Ah, yeah, right. They were used to be MU long time ago. Sorry, guys,” Axcel immediately apologized after remembering it now.
“ You are really noisy. Let us go home,” Monica angrily lectured Axcel.
“ It is all right. Those were in the past already,” Jeremy assuredly replied.
“ So, let us go? Let us go home,” Grace said to change the conversation.
“ All right, let us go home,” Monica seconded. They started walking towards the exit when Monica suddenly stopped.
“ Wait, no one will send Venice home,” She remembered.
“ Oh my, you are right,” Grace seconded. They all looked at Bryan.
“ I ca---”
“ I will,”
My sentence was cut off when Bryan suddenly spoke. His words made me secretly gulp.
“ Oh, here he is, Hon. My cousin-in-law will be the one sending Venice home,” Axcel said.
“ Ah, I can go home alone,” I immediately said to assure them that I was all right going home alone.
“ That will not be permissible, Ven. You are too pretty to go home alone,” Grace argued. I still wanted to protest, but it seemed like I would not win over them. I let out a heavy sigh.
“ Fine,” I said in surrender.
“ There, see you tomorrow, friends,” Axcel remarked before grabbing Monica. Jeremy also grabbed Grace already. Grace and Monica could not do anything but look at me and wave their hands. When they had already left…
“ Let us go?” Bryan hesitantly asked.
I simply nodded before started walking towards the church’s exit. Before we left, Bryan made sure that the church’s door was locked. Afterwards, we called a tricycle to send us to my home. The ride was quiet since no one attempted to talk until we reached my house. Bryan gets out of the tricycle. Maybe he will send me to the door.
“ Thank you for sending me off,” I thanked him with a smile.
“ No worries. Besides, I would do it almost every day,” He replied, which made my heart beat fast.
“ Ah,” I awkwardly said and faked a laugh.
“ Are you not used to yet that I am here,” Bryan suddenly asked.
“ Huh? How did you say so?” I confusedly asked him back.
“ You are too quiet. The Venice I know five years ago was too noisy,” He replied.
“ Well, it might be that I not getting used to it, but more than that there are a lot of thoughts running on my mind,” I admitted.
“ Well, you should start to get used to it. Be at peace too. God is in control,” He encouraged and smiled at me. Even a tiny bit, I was relieved of some thoughts because of what he said. So, I smiled at him. He was still the Bryan who had a lot of wisdom from God.
“ Anyway, let us just see each other tomorrow,” He said.
“ Yeah, be careful on the way home,” I responded.
Bryan simply smiled at me before hopping in again on the tricycle. When my eyes could not see the tricycle anymore, I entered the house. I went to my room and lay on my bed praying.
“ Lord, let your will be done in my life,”
These were the last words in my prayer before I slept.
***
It is still early in the morning, but we are already here at the church to prepare. I chose to be quiet this morning because of my dream last night. It is also the reason why I went here early in the morning to pray in the prayer room.
After some time, our Sunday celebration started. I had goosebumps at how God moved in our midst, even in the worship. To the point that even I, who led, was touched by the Holy Spirit.
“ Lord, I know you are not yet done. You are saying right now that you are just started. Ready our hearts for the things you want us to do. In Jesus' name, we pray, Amen.” I ended my prayer, and people clapped surrounded our church.
I went down the stage to give the floor to our pastor, who will preach the word today. I do not know precisely why, but it seemed like those words in my prayer were meant for me.
“ Amen! The worship earlier was a blast. And, yes, our worship leader was right when she said that we must ready our hearts, especially you are all part of young professional,” our pastor said.
For the past year, our service was parted into three sessions. And the young pros like me were assigned to the morning session. In other words, everyone here is already in adulthood.
“ Our topic for today is all about God’s timing,” our pastor introduced, which made me gulp.
The third sign I listed before happened. God is great, indeed. Our pastor started preaching, and I embraced everything he was saying. The timing our pastor talked about was not only about Godly dating, but it also included other things. In other words, God has His own timing for everything happening in our life, so we do not need to rush things. One example of our pastors was people's prayers, which include work, business, and God’s will. Those things should not be put in a rush.
“ Listen here,” our pastor said, which made me turn back my attention to him.
“ Last night, while I was reviewing this topic, I heard the Lord say something to me, and I want to release it for someone here,” He seriously said, which made my heart beat fast.
“ You prayed for it for so long, and now it is finally happening. You may not understand why it is so sudden, but it is part of His timing. It is included in His schedule,” our pastor emphasized every word, so tears started flowing from my eyes.
I lowered my head to avoid anyone noticing that I was crying. Monica handed me her handkerchief and gently tapped my shoulder. I wiped my tears, smiled at her and tried my best to focus on the preaching again.
Until the end of the service, those lines of our pastor were pounding deeply in my heart. My heart is also peaceful right now because I am sure it is really the will of the Lord. I may not know how it might happen, but one thing is for sure, it is the will of God. That was enough reason for me to obey His will.
“ Venice,” I heard Bryan call me.
“ Hmm,” I replied. I know it is him, even if I did not look in his direction.
“ May I speak to you?” He asked.
“ Sure, I will just finish putting my things on my bag,” I responded.
I moved faster in putting my things in my bag. I am not excited, but I do not want someone to wait for me for so long. After a while, I turned around to Bryan.
“ Where are we going?” I simply asked.
“ Somewhere, let us go, shall we?” He said.
I simply smiled at him and followed him until we reached his car. We got in, and he started driving to the place, said. After some time, I think we have reached our destination already.
“ Seaside?” I asked him in wonder.
“ Yes, I already reserved a spot here, let us go,” He explained.
I nodded and got out of his car. He held my hand to support me while we were walking to the spot he talked about. When we already reached it, I was really amazed by the surrounding. From the site we were in, I could view the beauty of the ocean. Bryan helped me to sit down.
“ Thank you,” I sweetly thanked him.
I could see how nervous Bryan was, but I did not know how to comfort him. I am grateful that I was a woman. After a while, our food was already served on the table. All of it was my favorite food.
“ It seemed like you are good at searching things,” I said to break the silence and laughed.
“ The food was Monica’s idea,” He replied.
“ Ah, all right,” I smiled at him.
“ Venice,” Bryan called me again.
“ Hmm?” I answered because I was busy eating.
“ I know you might feel like this is too sudden, but for the past five years we were not together, I deeply prayed for it,” He sincerely said, making me stop eating. I looked intently at him.
“ I like you for a long time now, and each day my feelings towards you only grow deeper. I know how long five years had been for us, but for those years I did not stop loving and praying for you. I love you so much, Venice. There is no day had passed that I did not ask God to let me be the one He destined for you. Now, after so many years, He already gave me the go signal,” He said teary-eyed. The way I am seeing him right now made me cry. The surrounding is too peaceful, as well as my heart. I could really see God’s love mirrors in his eyes.
“ I know that you do not want instant things, so even if how long it takes, it is all right for me as long as you let me prove to you what I feel towards you. You do not have to worry because I already talked to everyone. Our pastor, your parents and sibling, as well as Axcel, Grace, Jeremy, and Monica. All of them actually gave me their blessings. Even if your spiritual children did, so…” He stopped and held my hand on the table.
“ So, I will court you even if you permit me or not,” He said with determination, making me smile.
TO BE CONTINUED!