A Blessed Wedding Ceremony
Brother Yung Wei Nok (Kowloon Church)
In the name of our Lord Jesus I testify. Thank the Lord, I finally got married last year on the 12th December 2017. I thank those brethren who attended and assisted in the marriage ceremony. I first made a covenant with God and now, my marriage has enabled me to make a lifetime covenant with my spouse and share in this grace.
It has been less than a year since the day I met my wife Yun-Ting to the day we got married. We only met five times before our wedding. We faced many challenges along the way but were persistent as we firmly believed that by marrying in the Lord, we would be blessed by the Lord.
Since both of my parents are idol worshippers, from the start of our engagement to the morning of the wedding ceremony, there has never been a moment where I stopped being fearful. From the beginning, I was extremely worried that my parents would have many requests that involved idol worship, also, there was my minimal talent in speaking Mandarin, the need to purchase a property in a high-priced property market, the need for Yun-Ting to find work in Hong Kong etc.
Thank God, surprisingly, my parents did not have any ritual requests and accepted the demands of our church and beliefs. It was only on the matter of the bridal couple kneeling to serve tea that we could not reach a consensus. My mother had hoped we would kneel to serve her tea, yet the local church had not fully come to a consensus regarding the topic of kneeling. My father even took a bible and asked me to find the verses that stated we couldn’t kneel to serve tea to living parents. This matter caused me to be in a constant tug-of-war with the resident preacher of that time. Thank God, though the Bible does not state we cannot kneel before those who are still living, Yun-Ting and I decided to relent and fulfill the wishes of our elders.
It has been less than a year since the day I met my wife Yun-Ting to the day we got married. We only met five times before our wedding. We faced many challenges along the way but were persistent as we firmly believed that by marrying in the Lord, we would be blessed by the Lord.
Since both of my parents are idol worshippers, from the start of our engagement to the morning of the wedding ceremony, there has never been a moment where I stopped being fearful. From the beginning, I was extremely worried that my parents would have many requests that involved idol worship, also, there was my minimal talent in speaking Mandarin, the need to purchase a property in a high-priced property market, the need for Yun-Ting to find work in Hong Kong etc.
Thank God, surprisingly, my parents did not have any ritual requests and accepted the demands of our church and beliefs. It was only on the matter of the bridal couple kneeling to serve tea that we could not reach a consensus. My mother had hoped we would kneel to serve her tea, yet the local church had not fully come to a consensus regarding the topic of kneeling. My father even took a bible and asked me to find the verses that stated we couldn’t kneel to serve tea to living parents. This matter caused me to be in a constant tug-of-war with the resident preacher of that time. Thank God, though the Bible does not state we cannot kneel before those who are still living, Yun-Ting and I decided to relent and fulfill the wishes of our elders.
In the end, Yun-Ting and I decided to be calm and pray about it first. God enabled me to remember a few years back to when my grandfather passed away. There was an incident where my mother and our relatives wanted me to take part in their rituals but I was not willing to. My mother loudly demanded I leave the funeral parlour. At that time, I was exposed to all our relatives and acquaintances scolding me for being unfilial and bringing shame to my parents. Yet, I did not leave, I only continued to pray in silence because I believed that it was always right to heed the Lord’s will. The devil could put me into a dire situation but God would certainly enable me to get through it peacefully. In the end, the incident in the funeral parlour passed. Those relatives who called me unfilial or wanted to cut off relations with me did not contact me but our relationship remains. They even attended my wedding and offered their good wishes.
Based on that experience, Yun-Ting and I decided to remain steadfast until the end. When faced with doubtful matters, even if it was not recorded in the Bible, we still need to have a good conscience towards God. Rather than guessing about what to do, it was better not to do it. We thought we should stand to serve the bridal tea instead. It would be similar to the widow who made a small cake for the prophet Elijah by offering all that she had to God and then awaited whatever happened, even if it was death. We would accept whatever came our way.
In the end, thank God for arranging two guardian angels on the day of the Chinese marriage tea ceremony to protect us. During that sensitive occasion, they created a light-hearted atmosphere that eased the proceedings, so that my mother passed through the tea ceremony without any comment. During the evening banquet, no relatives commented on why we had not knelt when serving tea, and the whole matter was concluded just like that.
Thank God, our faith, our housing and our communication were all resolved within a year. The future will hold many challenges for Yun-Ting and I but God left us His grace and protection as our ever-present example of faith to lead us through future uncertainties. God’s grace is sufficient for us and we give thanks for it.
In the end, thank God for arranging two guardian angels on the day of the Chinese marriage tea ceremony to protect us. During that sensitive occasion, they created a light-hearted atmosphere that eased the proceedings, so that my mother passed through the tea ceremony without any comment. During the evening banquet, no relatives commented on why we had not knelt when serving tea, and the whole matter was concluded just like that.
Thank God, our faith, our housing and our communication were all resolved within a year. The future will hold many challenges for Yun-Ting and I but God left us His grace and protection as our ever-present example of faith to lead us through future uncertainties. God’s grace is sufficient for us and we give thanks for it.
