Timeline on How the LORD Matched His Children
- James Ephraim Tabilla
- Sep 9
- 6 min read
This is mostly my (James’) perspective on the story. I may insert some of Meriam’s viewpoint as well.
I wrote this because those who knew most of the story were only our spiritual elders (including our parents), whom we immediately included in our journey to cover us with prayers and godly advice. Many are asking our story and I desire to include them too.
Psalm 27:14“Wait for the LORD; be strong, and let your heart take courage; wait for the LORD!” (ESV)
June 2023
By this time, I had given up on praying for a romantic relationship.
I did pray for it in the past. In YWAM Baguio, we were a group of single young men and women, and I asked God if one of those beautiful single ladies might be the one for me, placing my hope in those prayers. But those hopes led to disappointment. Finally, I surrendered it to the LORD, saying, “It’s now Your problem, not mine.”
This was the season I began to see singleness as a blessing and started enjoying both the joy and ministry benefits of being single.
July 2023
God reminded me of a prayer I made in YWAM Abra when I was 17 years old: I had asked the LORD that my future wife would come from Abra.
At the same time, the story of Isaac and Rebekah (Genesis 24) was impressed on my heart. Isaac met Rebekah through the introduction of a third person—Abraham’s servant. I held that story quietly in my heart, without telling anyone. Still, I told the LORD: “It’s now Your problem, not mine.”
But now I knew in my heart: my future wife would be introduced to me through other people.
August 2023
At our YWAM Northern Luzon regional conference in La Union, some of my YWAM aunties and uncles from Abra and Baguio asked about my future plans for marriage. I repeated what I always said: “It’s God’s problem, not mine.”
That’s when they mentioned a name: “Meriam Legias.”
I had never met her. But when I checked Facebook, I realized we were already “friends.” She had added me back in 2018 (though she couldn’t remember why).
They encouraged me to contact her, but I didn’t. My thought was: “We’ve never met. Why would I message a stranger?”
Still, deep inside, I knew that if I ever met her, that would be the sign for me to intentionally reach out. Yet I thought it was unlikely, since she lived and worked so far away.
September – October 2023
I kept enjoying singleness, not even thinking about relationships. Ministry also became very busy: Bible teaching, kitchen management, base maintenance, and leadership team responsibilities.
End of November 2023
One day, my YWAM aunties and uncles visited Meriam’s place. They made a Facebook call to me so I could meet her online.
That was my sign.
That evening, I contacted her, introduced myself, and after some small talk I said directly:“I think they are pairing us. Do you want to pray with me about this?”
I emphasized that both a “Yes” or a “No” would be a good answer.
Meriam agreed to pray with me and to continue communicating online.
November 2023 – January 2024
I shared everything with my spiritual elders, asking for their prayers and advice. All responded with support.
Meriam and I prayed and communicated daily. We discovered a surprising number of shared acquaintances across YWAM Philippines. She had already met my parents and sister. She also knew many people from Abra I grew up with and even some I had met during an outreach in Kalinga.
Yet—we had never met in person.
I also learned she was a public-school teacher in Luba, Tingguian with part-Kalinga roots, a pastor’s daughter (Assemblies of God like me), familiar with living by faith, knowledgeable about YWAM, and—like me—had never been in a relationship before.
By January, I asked the LORD for a secret sign: someone would accompany me to Abra to introduce myself to her family.
End of January 2024
A YWAM uncle from Baguio invited me to travel with them to Abra and to visit Meriam’s family in Luba. I immediately said yes and informed Meriam.
February 2024
Some YWAM uncles prayed for us in Benguet and received from the LORD the same story I had months earlier: Isaac and Rebekah.
On February 13, we arrived in Abra. Everyone there already knew about Meriam and me and was very excited.
On February 15, I traveled to her home in Luba. On the way, I felt an unusual peace in my heart.
While waiting at her house, I anticipated that if she truly was the one, something special would happen when we met.
The moment I heard her voice for the first time, an unusual joy flooded my heart. (And at that time in my life, joy was rare.) I knew it was from the LORD.
I introduced myself to her and her family, clarifying that this was just an introduction. Her parents understood and responded positively. Everyone was excited, and then they gave Meriam and me space to talk privately.
I told her plainly: “It’s already a YES for me. My being here is proof of that.”
I asked about her prayers over the last three months. She answered: “I don’t know.”
That answer deeply disappointed me.
Later, Meriam shared that before we arrived, God had given her a sign through a dream. But she was so overwhelmed by the situation that she was unprepared to respond.
Part of the confusion came from a YWAM uncle’s excitement: he accidentally used a word that culturally implied a wedding request instead of a simple introduction. Thankfully, I clarified my true intention, and her parents understood. But some confusion lingered.
Meriam later returned to Baguio with us, but I carried disappointment in my heart.
March – April 2024
We continued to communicate, but Meriam still had no clear “Yes” or “No.” I kept reminding her that either answer would be good and loving—but disappointment was growing in me.
May 2024
I felt I had already introduced myself enough. I stopped communicating to give her space to pray without my influence.
June 2024
While still wrestling with pride and disappointment, I was surprised when Meriam attended a Discipleship Training Week in YWAM Antipolo.
There, God gave her another sign.
July – August 2024
Still no answer from her. I continued to battle pride and disappointment.
August 29, 2024
On my birthday, Meriam greeted me and said she already had an answer—but she wanted to give it face-to-face, not through chat.
She also said God gave her another sign the day before my birthday.
September – November 2024
I considered ending the process, but what she said on my birthday held me back.
December 2024
I became very sick with a lung infection, literally drowning in phlegm. Weak and bedridden for weeks, God humbled me deeply.
In that place, I realized my pride had blinded me. Meriam had been faithfully following God’s process, but I had been impatient. When I finally surrendered my pride, I also began to lovingly wait for her.
January – March 2025
I served as a staff for a Discipleship Training School (DTS). Meriam and I met briefly during a midterm outreach in Abra, but we both knew the time was not yet.
April – May 2025
Our DTS went on outreach to Dagupan and Thailand. During this time, God asked me to surrender Meriam to Him, and I obeyed.
Yet by the end of May, it became clear in my heart: Meriam was the one I desired to marry.
June – July 2025
Burned out from outreach, I couldn’t travel to Abra. I prayed for God to give me a chance to go and hear Meriam’s answer (again, without telling anyone).
End of August 2025
A YWAM Abra auntie unexpectedly invited me to their church anniversary and later asked me to be the guest speaker.
I immediately contacted Meriam, asking if we could meet so I could hear her answer.
On August 25, in a completely unplanned chain of events, Meriam and I ended up walking together on a beach in Ilocos Sur, with romantic music playing in the background.
The LORD told me: “Ask her now.”
So I asked. She said, “YES.”
I asked her to be my girlfriend, with the promise that I would return later with a ring to propose. Again, she said “YES.”
That moment changed me. She had always been pretty, but when she said “Yes,” she suddenly became the most beautiful woman I had ever seen.
Before this, I had asked God to withhold any romantic feelings until she gave her answer. Now, those feelings came flooding in. I am in love.
Future Plans
End of October 2025 – My parents and some elders will accompany me to Meriam’s home to formally ask for her hand in marriage.
2026 – Our wedding year.
Lamentations 3:24–26 (ESV)“The LORD is my portion,” says my soul,“therefore I will hope in him.”The LORD is good to those who wait for him,to the soul who seeks him. It is good that one should wait quietly for the salvation of the LORD.”
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