‘Huslin’ for faith and love

“God honours your faith by rewarding your hustle,” says comedian and author Marcus D. Wiley. And when it comes to how Sophia and Chadrick Charles Huslin found each other, this has certainly been proven.

How is their love story defined as a hustle? “We met in March, had our first date in April and dated for seven months, got engaged in October, and were married by December,” said a cheerful Sophia in her interview with Island Wedding.

Faith also played a part – hers, his, and the faith of her mentor and friend Althea Harrison, who she has known for four years. For some time, Althea would nudge her friend that it was time for her to find a husband.

“I think it was about late November (2021) when Althea, through the leading of the Holy Spirit, discussed the idea of me getting married, but I had become content with my singleness and really didn’t want to get my hopes up. But I began to believe it was possible and prayed about it. She was the person who held my hand and walked me through the journey of getting married,” Sophia shared.

“We met through the Holy Spirit, He was our matchmaker; on March 6, 2022, through much deliberation, I decided to listen to the divine instruction to visit Chad’s church and made arrangements with Althea, who also attends the same church. There we were about to start the rest of our lives together without ever saying hello. The first Sunday I went I met him, but had no idea he was the man of my dreams. The first hello came through a phone call, and from that day we never looked back,” she continued.

Chadrick, however, said that he knew from the very first moment he laid eyes on Sophia. “The Lord showed me she would be my wife once she had arrived, because she was graceful, tall, elegant and really stood out.

“After our first conversation, I thought she was grounded and a woman who knows exactly what she wanted. She was very principled but reserved, though she came off a bit shy at first. It didn’t take long for her to start opening up, and for a moment I thought she was working for the CIA, [what] with all her loaded questions,” Chadrick quipped.

He said that after a few dates, movie nights, carrying out philanthropic work together, and spending time in fellowship, it further reinforced his relationship with Sophia. He wanted to propose at a brunch after church one day in October, but it didn’t work out as planned. Then he contemplated doing it during a movie date, but after much thought, he realised it would have been too impersonal; so instead, he considered a quieter moment. He took her home, then requested a glass of water, and when she returned with it, she stumbled upon him on his knees in her living room.

Chadrick shared, “She embodied most of the qualities and virtues I had asked God for in a wife. As Proverbs says, ‘her price is far above rubies’, and that is exactly how I felt about her. She is virtuous, beautiful, funny, loves God, brilliant, radiant in her smile, and has a heart of gold. I knew I had to marry her. The hardest part was trying to surprise her. I was trying to not make it predictable, but more spontaneous with everything I had already known.”

Sophia agrees that many men would be intimidated to know that the woman they were interested in had already planned her wedding from start to finish, and her steps could easily be mistaken for a covert operation. “From the colour scheme to the theme, cake, and dress, all of those details were selected in February, before meeting Chad. I had originally chosen black and gold because I wanted it to look regal. But when after finding out that his favourite colour was royal blue, it sealed the deal,” she said.

“He sealed the deal for me when earlier, while we were dating, he said to me, ‘I have been waiting for you for years and I’m glad I did.’ From that moment I knew he was not afraid of commitment like some men, and that he was serious about our future together. I was mostly attracted to his love for God and the love for the people of God, especially the less fortunate. Because I also served in that area I was impressed; we both had that in common. He has taught me the power of faith. He more than I believed this was from God from the very beginning, and even when I had my doubts and fears he kept the faith. For this, I am stronger in my faith and the promises of God, and for him to bring them to pass,” Sophia continued.

On December 28, the two tied the knot at a beautiful Queenhill property with the romantic décor of roses and candlelight enhanced by the backdrop of Kingston’s city lights, in front of their family and friends. Before the ceremony, the couple met Merrick Cousley and Darren Daily, photographer, and videographer, respectively, to document their first look at each other as bride and groom. A live praise-and-worship session opened the ceremony.

“She has taught me the true meaning of 1 Corinthians 13, ‘ Love is patient, love is kind, love holds no record of wrong…’. It’s easy for us to say we love, but to demonstrate love the way God expects us to is where the true test is. There were eight promises made in my wife’s vows, but the three that stood out to me the most were her promise to be my peace, to always make me laugh, and to feed me every day, and of course, the way to a man’s heart is always through his stomach. She had hit the nail on the head, and I won the jackpot.”

Together they said, “We are both Christians and for many, this may seem crazy and risky to marry someone so quickly, but for us, it is God’s supernatural and appointed time, coupled with our faith to know it was God who brought us together. Marriage for us is a covenant of love through God. We truly believe God brought us together for the fulfilment of his kingdom purposes on earth.”

Sophia, a business analyst by profession who has fulfilled her real calling to become a pastor, has been in ministry for the past six years as a minister of religion and dedicates much of her time to serving the needs of the less fortunate through several outreach programmes.

Chadrick Charles Huslin is a father, philanthropist, founder, and senior director of Nation Builders Rock Foundation, who is passionate about change in Jamaica through youth development and spiritual empowerment. He is also a restaurant manager by day.

“We look forward to starting our family and owning our own business. We also look forward to expanding our ministry and extending our philanthropic outreach. We will be writing a book to share our story and bring hope to men and women in waiting,” they shared.

stephanie.lyew@gleanerjm.com