Destiny
by Oliver Carlos
My favorite place in my father’s house in Los Banos is the stock room. Whenever I visit my Dad, I would always spend time browsing the old photo albums in that room. One day I found a couple of fascinating photographs. They were the oldest photos of my paternal grandparents, Tomas Castillo and Ceriaca Miranda. I don’t know if it’s just a coincidence, but both photos were taken in 1929. Thus, I had an idea how they looked like on the same year that they haven’t met each other yet.
In 1929, Ceriaca was a 4th year high school student. She was studying in Tarlac, Tarlac (now Tarlac City), while residing in nearby Gerona town. Meanwhile, Tomas was miles away. Although he had his roots in Pangasinan, he and his family resided in Sampaloc, Manila during the American colonial period.
My oldest living paternal-side relative, Uncle Tommy, told me that Tomas and Ceriaca first met in Dagupan, Pangasinan while vacationing separately with their respective families. At that time, they were total strangers, and their families didn’t know each other either. The specific way on how they first met is still an untold story I still need to discover. But anyway, their first meeting must have happened in 1930 or 1931.
Ceriaca was there in Dagupan because her father was a land surveyor assigned in the area. Meanwhile, Tomas was also in that place because his father hails from Pangasinan. His old man served as the provincial treasurer of Pangasinan as early as 1901. After Tomas and Ceriaca met that summer, the two teens went to Manila separately.
Ceriaca went to the big city to study Pharmacy at the Manila College of Pharmacy and Dentistry (now called the Manila Central University). The original campus of her school was in Sta. Cruz, Manila. On the other hand, Tomas went back to Manila because his family owned the one-and-only store selling tobacco leaves at the Sampaloc Market. To cut the long story short, the two fell in love, got married had their first child in 1933. They named him Angel.
While holding the 2 photographs from 1929, an interesting thought came into my mind. It’s mind-blowing to imagine that these people in the 2 separate photographs would have crossed paths. When they had their photos taken that year, they had totally no idea that they would meet the love of their life, their destiny, a year or two afterwards.
This makes me realize that lovers don’t meet by chance. There must be a master matchmaker who would make them meet at his planned time and place. Before the meeting time happens, this master matchmaker would take care of this man and woman. He would prepare them for that wondrous moment. He would cause them to grow individually and be perfect for each other in his perfect time. This master matchmaker is God.
I wrote a song about this in 1997, and I sang it to my bride on our wedding. The chorus of “Eversince” was:
“And through the years, he cared for you and me. And at the right time, yes at the right time, he made me to see, he made you to see, that you and I were meant to be.”
We see this also in the Bible. In the Song of Songs, which is also called the Song of Solomon, we read in chapter 8:5 (MSG):
“I found you under the apricot tree and woke you up to love.
Your mother went into labor under that tree, and under that very tree she bore you.”
Here, Solomon is saying that falling in love has a divine gestation period. Before they became lovers, Solomon’s beloved had to be born and be taken care of by her mother. At the right time and the right place, her love for him was awakened. She was prepared for that moment.
If you’re single and praying for your “God’s perfect will”, remember that right now, God is preparing that person for you, in the same way that he is preparing you for that person. Be patient and embrace God’s preparation period. If you are already married, appreciate your spouse and celebrate the love that God has placed in your hearts.
