Wedding Day Dilemmas

My wedding day was beautiful! A wonderful groom, a perfect wedding (almost), family and friends that love us and I got married!

Getting there was not so easy. My groom and I had a to-do list the day of the wedding. We were going to run our separate errands, and meet back at the church later that day.

I am from a large family (oldest of seven siblings). So, the siblings that were not participating in the ceremony were to help run our errands. Bradley had my little brother, Daniel, a sports loving ten year old, and I had nine year old Stacie -a diva waiting to happen.

The last thing I had told my loving groom was be back at the church as soon as you can.

By habit, and ability, my list was much longer than his.

I had to run across town, and pick up our rings from the jeweler. There had been a delay, and they were ready that very day. I was picking up items for the reception and the ceremony that were last minute thoughts.

Bradley’s big job was to pick up our marriage license from downtown and get his and my brothers tuxedo. Granted he had to go through the biggest festival in town to get there. Labor Day weekend was a tough time to get around. However, he did get his jobs accomplished with time to spare.

I have finished my errands, arrived at the church, and unloaded all the packages, checked on the reception site, only to see all the balloons we had placed in there the night before were now on the floor. It was a humid fall day, and the helium did not hold up. And, now, it was beginning to rain.

I needed a little more sunshine, a little cooler temperature, and I needed new balloons. Where was groom? He was not there. Was he okay? No cell phone – how did we communicate back then???

The problems were taken care of, the church was fully decorated, and all was set. Except, my groom was still missing. Hadn’t he had enough time to get around and complete his jobs?

Just before I was to prepare getting into my gown, my groom finally arrived. I was sure that had been some problem. Nope – the delay was a jaunt through the fair and a game of basketball. When my husband-to-be realized he had made really good time; he decided to enjoy the free time, and play with his soon to be brother-in-law. After all, he did arrive to the church “On Time”.

UNBELIEVABLE! Didn’t he know the stress I was having fixing all the problems? Why could he stop and play and I am running around with way too much on my mind?

Needless to say – I got over it. I had said one thing, and he heard something entirely different. Many friends had arrived early to help me with all the extra things that needed done.

All our friends and family were awaiting the celebration of our marriage. And, we were ready for the ceremony – that was all that mattered.

How many times in life does God feel the same way? How many times did He intend one thing, and we heard much different interpretations of his Word.

It is a good thing to seek His Word, ask for directions, and make sure to ask the right questions to make sure we are doing what God wants us to.

“Keep on asking, and you will receive what you ask for. Keep on seeking, and you will find. Keep on knocking, and the door will be opened to you. Matthew 7:7 (New Living Translation)

The Grace Lesson

When I was a little girl, about 10 years old, I had an experience I will never forget. It has been a big life lesson…

I had just flipped the restroom light switch, and found the bulb was burned out. I had seen my parents change this light many times. It did not look so difficult. I got a new light bulb, and stood on the edge of the bathtub, and began unscrewing the screws in the globe surrounding the light. It was going smoothly, until I tried to reach the last screw – it was just barely too far for me to reach – I almost had it loose, when CRASH!!!! The glass globe went crashing to the floor and shattered everywhere.

My parents rushed to see what the commotion was about. I knew they would be upset with me. First, they made sure I was not hurt. I waited in my bedroom expecting the punishment would arrive soon. They cleaned up all the broken glass, and changed the bulb.   Instead of a punishment, my dad let me know that he knew it was an accident, and he appreciated me trying to be more responsible and helping myself. He had been encouraging us to do more things on our own. I was shocked! (My mom was shocked, too.) I was not receiving a punishment, but, being encouraged to continue to be independent.

Many years later, in a similar story, I had the chance to pass the same grace onto my own children.  I had just returned from a shopping trip, and bought some new home décor items. I had placed them carefully in my trunk, and asked my kids to help unload them. Well, as kids do, they were not as careful as they should have been. And, several bags got roughed around a bit.

I began inspecting my purchases, and realized one of my wall pictures (metal art) was broken. A leaf had broken completely in half. I was disappointed. This beautiful picture had not made it to my wall, yet, and was already broken. Immediately, I had flashbacks of that moment in my parents’ home with the light globe. I knew this was my chance to give my kids a memory of their own.

They both had my attention, and neither knew which one broke this item. They were apologizing, when I told them accidents happen. But, we need to be careful with valuables. They had the same look of shock,  that I had when I was a little girl. After we shared big hugs, I told them my story.

I decided to put the wall hanging up anyway, and put a piece of scotch tape on the broken leaf. Every time I see the wall hanging, it is a reminder to me of the grace our Heavenly Father gives us.

If we all got we deserve, we would have nothing. It is a blessing that our Father sent His Son to die on the cross for each of us to have the freedoms we have today!

For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. John 3:16 NIV

Nuggets of Faith

I had been getting ready for work and the kids were getting ready for school. I generally keep two TVs tuned to my favorite news channel. That way I am sure not to miss any important information as I am getting ready for the day ahead.  

On this particular morning my youngest son, 7 year old, River ran to tell me of the awful thing he heard on the news. He told me of a plane that crashed and five passengers were killed.

It would have been easy to just nod and return to my busy morning. But, I felt this needed a little more attention. I sat down with him and explained how that was awful news. My two boys and I sat down and prayed for the families of those five passengers. We prayed for them to be comforted, we prayed for Christ to make Himself evident in this situation. We also prayed for any family member or friend that might not be saved; to be witnessed to in a special way.

This really seemed to calm River. Sometimes the fast answer is not always the best answer. I am constantly asking myself what I can do to better prepare my boys for the Spiritual battles that lay ahead.

By praying daily, those answers come easier and more naturally.

All praise to the God and Father of our Master, Jesus the Messiah! Father of all mercy! God of all healing counsel! He comes alongside us when we go through hard times, and before you know it, he brings us alongside someone else who is going through hard times so that we can be there for that person just as God was there for us. We have plenty of hard times that come from following the Messiah, but no more so than the good times of his healing comfort—we get a full measure of that, too.  2 Corinthians 1:5 (The Message)