I would like to thank everyone who entered the Leap of Faith contest. It has been an amazing month reading about the beautiful relationships you all have established, and the wonderful things you have done for and with each other. It was honestly an honor to read about such strong and loving relationships 
With all of that - it was nearly impossible to choose the finalists! It took quite a lot of reading (and re-reading) all of the entires, and some input from some very important people in my life (thanks to my contest committee and my hubby! :)) before I could even narrow it down… and when I did, I couldn’t pick just three. Please read about these awesome couples and their love for each other (keep some kleenex nearby, I shed a tear or two :)) - and leave me a comment and tell me who you think is most deserving!
So, without any more ado - I present the four contest finalists:
Finalist #1:
Leaps of Faith Make up Our Journey
“I know this may sound crazy, since I’ve only known you one day, but you have everything I’ve ever looked for in a wife, and I’d love to call you sometime.” With that David and I took our first leap of faith together. It had been a wonderful day, but a statement like that is enough to scare any girl away. Still something told me I should give him my number, and thankfully, I did.
Even being in the place where I met David was a leap of faith for me. Just 6 months before, I met my father, an older sister, and a brother. At the time I was 26 years old. I had only seen my brother twice (once when we met, and once when he invited me to Thanksgiving dinner), when my brother called me and invited me to attend his company’s ski trip along with him, his wife, and my sister. The thought of spending a 3 day trip with a bunch of people I didn’t know, including my newly found family members was, to say the least, intimidating. However, I mustered up the courage and accepted the invite on the off-chance that the trip could help me grow closer to my new family.
Little did I know how great that would weekend would turn out. For starters, I had a great time with my family. We played board games, skied together, and just sat around and chatted. It warmed my heart when my brother introduced me to all of his coworkers as, “my sister.” I expected him to make some long explanation of how we had just met, but instead, he just said I was his sister. That was strangely comforting. And then my brother introduced me to David, and the rest is history. The next day David asked me if I’d like some help learning to ski, and before I knew it, we’d spent 8 hours just skiing (for me, falling down), talking, and laughing. Over and over again, I thought to myself, “I think I’m falling in love.”
“…I’d love to call you sometime.” And with that simple statement, our journey began.
Beyond the fact that I met my future husband through my brother that I didn’t meet until I was 26 years old, what makes our story even more remarkable is that David is from Ireland. In 2003, David was given the opportunity to come to America to do 6 months of training with his company. Something in him just told him to do it, so he took a leap of faith and went. When his training was up, he was offered a permanent job in America, and again something told him to stay, and he took yet another leap, and stayed.
So many things had to come together for us to find each other. He had to build up the courage to leave Ireland and travel four thousand miles to a different country. Then he had to be offered a job here, and be brave enough to stay in a country where he had no family, and only newly-made friends. I had to search to find my brother and sister, and they had to actually agree to meeting me. My brother had to take the chance of inviting me, an almost total stranger, to spend the whole weekend at his company ski trip, and I had to make the very scary and exciting decision to go. David had to ask me to go skiing that day, and muster up the confidence to ask for my number, and eventually to call me. To me our story is an amazing journey composed of many steps and leaps of faith. As David and I often joke, us being together is “Deeeesssstiiiiinyyyyyy.” (A very romantic, sigh-filled voice must be used when saying that!)
Since David and I started our relationship we have grown so much together. This past Christmas season, I took the leap of faith of leaving America, all of my family, and traveling to Ireland for 3 weeks to meet and spend time with David’s family. It was the time of my life. I had so much fun, loved his family, and was amazed by the lively and friendly culture there. On December 23, 2007 we were in the middle of a several day excursion up the west coast of Ireland when we stopped to visit the breath taking Cliffs of Moher. As we were standing on the edge of the cliffs, David held me tight, looked into my eyes and said, with his always charming Irish accent, “You know how much I love you, right?” My heart jumped. He proceeded to make three very clear points. He will always do everything in his power to make me happy and treat me with honor and respect. He will always be faithful to me and love me with all of his heart. He will always seek God’s will for our lives and strive be a Godly man. And then, he got down on one knee, said my whole name, opened up a jewelry box to reveal what I believe is the most beautiful ring of all time, and then he took one major leap of faith by saying, “Will you marry me.”
Of course, I took a similar leap of faith and said, “Yes!”
Not The End…
Merely The Beginning!
Finalist #2
An Ingredient Called Faith
He is the youngest son, born and raised in Boston, a passionate Patriots, Sox, Celtics fan. She was born in Washington, D.C., the eldest daughter of Korean immigrants who go west, out to California. In Los Angeles, they forge a bond, an office space friendship, after four years of working in side by side cubicles. They fall in love after he invites her to dine at his place. He kneels down on one knee and proposes to her in Los Cabos, Mexico, on a balcony overlooking the Pacific. And finally, this September 13th, they will be married at a tiny church on Martha’s Vineyard and will celebrate afterward in Ag Hall, a 100 year-old post and beam barn.
The leap of faith began its baby steps when we first met. As co-workers, we commiserated over the daily grind, the rigidity of corporate life, the robotic shells we encased ourselves in when on the clock. As friends, we spoke of our mutual loves, a passion for literature, the written word, the far, far away possibility of working at home. And as lovers, we jumped last spring, our palms slightly sweaty,and began to write.
Most everything in life requires this ingredient called faith. To be a writer, you have to hold steadfast in your beliefs that the words you put down on paper may be seen one day. To say your vows, you have to have faith that the person standing opposite from you crosses his or her heart and hopes to die just as much as you do. We haven’t yet made our writing careers nor have we celebrated our 75th anniversary yet but we have faith that we will.
We would love to have Emily Jackson be a part of our day. We hope that you will bless and enjoy our declaration of love, happiness and faith.
Finalist #3:
In January of 2005 I was anorexic, and miserable. My New Year’s Resolution? To heal myself. Like many women, I thought that meant I would be doing the work - that my problems were my own to fix. A few days into the New Year, while visiting my father in San Francisco for the first time, I made my way into the chocolate shop at Ghirardelli Square. There was only one other person in line, a handsome man behind me with a traveler’s backpack on. I offered to give him my “free sample” of chocolate (which I still keep in a box). Little did I know that he would one day be my fiancé. In June of this year, however, we will be married in Switzerland, his home country, and our new home together.
What transpired between then and now truly was a leap. Jonathan was the first man that I felt comfortable showing my flaws to. He did not judge my eccentric habits; he was genuinely interested in me, and in helping. So, knowing a good thing when I see one, and unconsciously I believe, not being able to tear myself from this sudden support, I quit my job, and followed him home to Switzerland. He has seen me go through one end of the spectrum to another, until eventually the pendulum has come to rest, calmly at center. He is a former chef, and with him I have discovered that I love food. I am learning to cook; we make our pizza dough by hand; I love cheese! And because of his unfailing, and undramatic support, I will fit into my wedding dress come June, with normal, healthy habits.
Some see my move to Switzerland (After knowing him two months) as the leap of faith, but I see it as trusting another person utterly and completely with the care of our souls, which is what marriage is truly about.
Finalist #4:
Like most young relationships, that between my fiancé Tom and I was rather care-free and untroubled. Perhaps our “honeymoon phase” of dating was a little longer than most, for two years after be began dating everything seemed set and our futures appeared to be falling into place; we were both graduating from college, and he had a great job lined up, while I had my heart set on attending medical school. Although the thought of having to deal with more student loans did seem daunting to me, I reasoned that if I moved back home with my parents, I would be able to make ends meet. We were happy with each other and happy with our futures…or so we thought.
Before any of these dreams could come to fruition, my parents informed me that they would be selling the house I grew up in and were moving from New York to North Carolina. I was ready to give up on any hope of medical school and felt that it just simply was not possible, but my fiancée refused to believe it. He knew medical school had been a dream of mine and was determined to find a way to make it work. Tom sat down with me and we went over all of our options, such as where to live, where to get a job, and where to go to school, and despite much frustration and tedious searching, we eventually came across a feasible program in which I would study to become a physician’s assistant. Despite the hardships we both knew we would face if I chose to go back to school, Tom gave me confidence to take a leap of faith and follow my heart.
While Tom never had any interest in science or medicine, he made it his first priority to help me study, and although he frequently mispronounced words and medical terms, his dedication meant a lot, and I know that I never would have been able to graduate without his help. Not only did he assist me in schoolwork, but he took care of household chores and paying bills as well. His support made the two years of school, the tight money situation, and the adjustment I needed to make in having my family live far away, much easier to manage, and before I knew it I only had three months left of school, and what seemed like a perfect job lined up for me as a physicians assistant after graduation.
It seemed as though we had made it, that the hard times were over and that we could go back to the secure lives we thought we would live upon graduating from college; however, I soon developed a cough that lasted several weeks and my voice began to sound extremely hoarse. He urged me to get it checked out, but I was too focused on school to worry about it, that is, until the day I felt a lump on my neck. Because I had been in physician assistant school, I knew immediately that it was on my thyroid, and that it was serious. I quickly got a biopsy done, and on St. Patrick’s Day we got the news: I had thyroid cancer. While I tried to be optimistic I was devastated. Tom on the other hand, showed no sign of doubt, and was convinced we could get through it. He was there through everything, biopsies, doctor appointments, surgery, staying at the hospital all night long, whatever it took to make me better. It was a very long and difficult road for both of us, but I am proud to say that although it was not easy and took a lot of faith, I am now cancer free. In addition, I was able to graduate on time, and I was still able to take the “perfect job” I had lined up, which I feel, after – years of working there, is actually perfect.
As for my relationship with Tom, it is pretty close to perfect as well. Our hardships only brought us closer, and in July of 2007, when he proposed to me on top of the Empire State Building, I knew that it was right, and that as long as we were together there was nothing we could not face. I will forever be grateful for Tom’s encouragement and support in not only pushing me to make a leap of faith but actually jumping right along with me, and am prepared to do the same for him, as long as we both shall live.
Vote! Who do you think should win?
