Hello fellow Steemians! I'm on my 2nd blog. Thanks to @bensimblog for your unwavering support.
“When a man can listen to a woman's feelings without getting angry and frustrated, he gives her a wonderful gift. He makes it safe for her to express herself. The more she is able to express herself, the more she feels heard and understood, and the more she is able to give a man the loving trust, acceptance, appreciation, admiration, approval, and encouragement that he needs.”
― John Gray, Men Are from Mars, Women Are from Venus
This book influenced me deeply in 2011. I came from Ipoh, where most people spoke mainly Mandarin and Cantonese. My first language was, not surprisingly, Mandarin followed by Cantonese. I could not speak English fluently. So when I had to pastor a mainly English speaking congregation in a Methodist church in 2011, language became my greatest challenge. In that time I met the girl of my dream, who is now my wife. As we grow to know each other better, I realized the important lesson of being a good listener when building a relationship.
We believe that God is our Match-maker. I learned English from her while she learned Mandarin from me. We were actually total opposites just like Mars and Venus. I remembered the chat on our first dating. We noticed our personal characters and hobbies are so much different. I was systematic and less details. She is opposite to me. I like exercises and games but she takes exercise can be very tiring. I love watching movies in a cinema but she prefer going to a quite library. In general she seems not my cup of tea. However, sharing from the heart, being sincere and not judgmental to different opinions have deepen our relationship. That is why I think God brought us together. She is Abby. Together we are perfect match ABC (Abby and Caleb).
Utmost important, two same goals tie us together, that are Faithful in Marriage and Focus in Family. We signed the My True Love Waits Commitment in a church. I realize that we may have a lot of differences, but patience, gentleness, endurance and sacrifice of time bring us into one heart. On 7th July 2011, I started a secret mission to propose to her. She turned into tears and answered in "Yes, I do".
I have compiled a short video on how we meet each other shown below:
https://d.tube/v/calebchang/446ojpf2
My first blog: Part 1 is talking about Practice of Unity with people in different religion. Hereby I add in a summary of lessons that I learn in walk out this practice. Life can make a difference if you can
Develop a mutual understanding
Being a good listener
Being sincere
Find the same goals
Story to be continued…