I have had the most refreshing day today… Though it was hard to get it in gear this morning, every effort to get up and get out was well worth it. I witnessed the most amazing outpouring of love and support for a family today; people donated time, talent, food, funds, and lots more for a couple who made the commitment to do things the right way and enter into the covenant of marriage. When I slipped to the back during the reception to ask who I could give some money to so that we could make a contribution, I was told that everything had been donated. People had come forward wanting to be a part of the celebration, wanting to contribute, and there was no lack in any area. This couple was blessed beyond measure by people who just wanted to be a blessing.

They had been concerned about being so far away from home with no family members living here near them; they were surprised by the groom’s brother who drove 12 hours just to be here for the occasion — they hadn’t seen each other in 15 years.  And when the brother was introduced at the mini-reception held at the church, the groom was so excited to share, “He got saved before I did!”  And he said he knew that their mother was looking down from heaven smiling and happy because of their decisions to live for the Lord.  At the reception that took place later in the afternoon, his brother continually expressed how happy he was that he and his bride were choosing to live for God and had taken the step to enter into the marriage covenant after so many years.  There was so much joy in the room and so much excitement in the air!

It was an awesome day… an awesome celebration… an awesome time of new beginnings. God can make all things new.  The couple topped the day off by gathering all of the balloons that were in the room as decoration, taking them outside, saying a prayer of thanks to God, and releasing the balloons to the sky as an act of surrendering their lives, their marriage, and their family to Him.  They are definitely stepping into a new phase and are ready to see what God has for them.

Yes, it was a day that I will never forget and I am grateful that I had the opportunity to be a part of the festivities.  There were many valuable lessons, but the one that stands out more than others is simply that when this couple simply made the decision to align their relationship and their family up with the Word of God, the blessings began to flow immediately.  We can only imagine what the future holds as we know that the best is yet to come!  Because we know that God is faithful, we know that the future is going to be great!