It's More Than A Wedding

This past weekend, one of our closest Nashville friends got married! It was a true celebration and a sweet time to reflect on how we have gotten to see each stage of this relationship. From the talks we had with Martha over a year ago when she lived right down the road and would come join us for dinner and share that she really had no idea who the Lord had for her to marry - more so than that, who she would even date. Oh, and she would mention that she was tired of dating. We knew the longing of her heart was not to play the dating game - but for the Lord to bring her the ONE who she could love and cherish and grow in the Lord with. It wasn’t long after that that the Lord brought Kyle into her life. We knew from the start that Kyle was a blessed guy because we had known all along that Martha was a true catch!!

I had the true honor of being the Matron of Honor and standing by Martha as she entered into the sweet covenant of marriage with Kyle. As I stood there and listened to the vows being said right before my very eyes - I was in awe of how the God of all creation had brought two of His precious children together to be one. We have a lot of amazing friends who are in the “waiting” period right now - praying diligently for the Lord to bring them their suitable helper. Standing there as a witness of how the Lord had brought Kyle into Martha’s life and now joined them together - was a true encouragement to me and a moment of renewed hope for the dear ones in the waiting. There is nothing in the world like it when you undeniably see the Lord bringing two of His own together to honor Him, love one another, and serve others. 

This wedding celebration was a sweet time for Brandon and I to pause for a moment and reflect on the time when we did not know each other - yet we were praying for one another. When God is the one to bring you together - it is not a forced thing. It is something that happens so naturally that it’s almost hard to remember what it was like back when you did not even know each other. Celebrating Martha and Kyle’s wedding on Saturday and with all the events leading up to it was a neat time to get out our photos and replay our wedding day in our minds and give God the glory for bringing us together. We often think back on the time that a friend shared with us during our engagement to be more focused on preparing for the marriage than the wedding. When we go to a wedding now - we can testify that the wedding is simply the icing on the cake. It’s a blessing to have such an amazingly wonderful day to look back on as a “monument” of the day we became one - but it is true that the wedding and reception will quickly be over in a matter of hours - but the marriage is for a lifetime. 

There are so many fun things to notice at a wedding - from the dress to the flowers to the bridesmaids’ dresses to the beach or adorable red barn in the background. But more amazing than any of that is the testimony of seeing two of God’s children wait on each other - not settling - but waiting expectantly for God’s very best. As we all know, marriage is not always a bucket of seashells or a mason jar of yellow daisies - but it is worth every ounce of the effort to communicate, learn, and love well. We were so blessed to witness two of our dear friends commit their lives to the Lord and one another on Saturday - and look forward to seeing how God is going to continue to bless so many of our other precious friends who are waiting on their bride or groom. 

Closing statement from the man of the house: "It’s so cool when you see two people who love the Lord come together and you know that God put them together. Mark 10:9 is a verse that comes to mind right now: ‘Therefore what God has joined together, let no one separate.’ It’s more than worth the wait to wait on God’s very best. I remember praying the ‘single man’s prayer’ and God bringing Whit to me on the other side of that prayer. Thankful for the wedding this weekend to remind us of God’s faithfulness!”