coincidence? no way! part I

there is no such thing as coincidence

my life is the perfect example of this

I started to believe this about 6 years ago… small things inflicted this idea

stories of an acquaintance (a man who travelled the world along prisons and wrote a book about it, hitchhiked home with a total stranger who was reading that book), the way my cousins and friends got to know there boy/girlfriends, winning the last tickets to a concert I really wanted to go to…

coincidence? it all seemed a bit too coincidental

4 years ago, at Christmas, this all took a massive turn: I was feeling down, my boyfriend dumped me and I felt a bit lost

I was sitting at the feast table, a bit absent, but happy with the company of my family, when my cousin B. had to make an announcement for his wedding. I told him “ho, wait a second… stand up! this kind of announcements deserves the proper treatment” ;)

he stood up and at that time he gave me THE best Christmas present I ever had and ever will have: he asked me to be his maid of honour :D

as an only child and having only good friends that have more than enough brothers and sisters as possible candidates, I never expected to be a maid of honour, now I could be my cousins, my “big brother”s…

I can assure you, this kind of presents at a time you’re feeling down do not at all feel like just a present… to me, it’s was a sign

even more… my cousin-in-law-to-be R. told us her younger brother Arnout would be her best man…

Arnout ... that name… hearing that name, only his name… I felt at ease, in that degree even I could let go of everything… I knew him somehow … it felt right

some months passed, and finally in April I got to know Arnout …

never met him before, but I knew him, he knew me, we could skip the “obligatory” getting to know each others’ occupancies etc. and go directly to hours of small talk about anything and everything

we got together, the greatest months of my life

everybody that knew us together told the same story: “you are SO great together”, “one wedding inflicts another”, “you’re made for each other, you can tell”

… and actually… we were made for each other

when I was with him, I felt good, I felt complete, nothing could take us apart

this was no coincidence, it was faith

they lived happily ever after (or so would the fairy tale end)

… to be continued