Three Wedding Photos and Three Wedding Thoughts

I'm sure you've heard the saying, "a picture is worth a thousand words". Well, I have chosen to share three pictures from my daughter Emmy's wedding this past weekend. She was privileged to marry her "best friend Kyle." I could have picked several dozen different pictures, but these three are the ones I hope will speak to your heart in a deeper way.

THE CELEBRATION. Due to planning a wedding during a pandemic, the guest list fluctuated week to week to week. To say the least, the drama involved around the wedding date was incredibly weighty. It saddened us that due to a virus, many people were unable to attend. Often I thought of the deeper reality of a better day ahead of us: In the end of time, the true Bridegroom is coming to claim his bride once and for all. At THIS wedding feast our Lord promises there will be "no more death, nor mourning, nor crying, nor pain" (see Revelation 21:1-6). The Bridegroom, Jesus, Savior of all mankind, is inviting YOU to be present with HIm, forever. My friend, it's going to be ETERNALLY GREAT, like no other wedding feast on this planet. Don't miss it! The question is, will you come?

Until that day...we grow as a FAMILY. I now have two more sons in the mix! And... how could I leave my precious granddaughter out of this post?! If I can give anything to this growing family, it would be the same thing I've given all along: prayer. I pray for many things, one main thing being that the love of Christ would be present within each heart and that this love would then pour out to the people around them, including each other. As you well know, being unified is not a "given", it's a choice. Differences can divide us if we allow it. My daily prayer is that we would recognize that we are all uniquely created and that each God-designed-person is worth celebrating, together. "And above all these, put on love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony" (Colossians 3:14).

ABUNDANT JOY. When Emmy got engaged, I asked her what word I could pray over her and Kyle's wedding day. She quickly responded, "JOY!" Let me emphatically say that God delivered in abundance! Joy resonated within the wedding party as well as throughout the entire celebration, all the way to the bubbly night time exit of the bride and groom. In saying this, my deeper heart's desire for you is to look at this particular picture of Emmy and Kyle and believe with all your heart that Jesus is just as EXCITED AND DELIGHTED with you as Kyle is with Emmy. IT'S TRUE (and even more so!). If we really lived with assurance that Christ LOVES AND CHERISHES US, I think we would be a more confident people of God, spreading the good news with excited fervor.With the last picture in mind I will close with these two complimentary verses. Believe in and walk (or skip) in these truths today:As a bridegroom rejoices over his bride, so will your God rejoice over you. Isaiah 62:5Joy and gladness will be found in her, thanksgiving and a sound of a melody. Isaiah 51:3