I was thinking tonight about the important books in my life. I'm a voracious reader, and a novel has always been my best escape to relaxation. But there have been some really important books over the years that stand out and moved me beyond just a good story. So this little entry is about the first read that brought me to tears.
I was 12 or 13. It was summer in California. We were living in my grandmother's tiny little 3 bed, one bath cabin. (If you think that sharing one bath between 6 people is fun, well it's just barrels of good times.) My parents were on furlough. I was in the awkward stage between girl and woman and that summer was lonely in the foreign(to me) land of Cali.
So, I curled up on my Gran's unfortunate yellow -with brown roses- couch and I read Where the Red Fern Grows. I got lost in the world of Billy and Old Dan and Little Ann. The themes in the book of enduring friendship and sacrifice touched a nerve. When I finished the last page, there were tears in my eyes. I thought about it for several days afterward, and I think it might be one of the reasons why I still love dogs as much as I do.
Gosh, God is just so smart. When I graduated high school, my little homesick self copied out my favorite praise and worship lyrics in a notebook in Spanish. It's been kicking around my house for 15 years and survived all the moves.
I was sitting here thinking about the upcoming trip to Nicaragua, and the two members of our praise and worship team going...and the notebook came to mind. A whole plethora of already written lyrics and music easy to access and easy to learn. Already prepared by God 15 years ago!!! to bless the ladies in the House of Hope this year. Crazy.
One of my favorite choruses. The truth of it still blows me away. Tu fidelidad ES grande, Senor.
This weekend I had the pleasure of shooting the wedding of a dear Christian couple. They are young, fun and very much in love. But more importantly, they love Jesus.
So the whole wedding was outdoor. Ceremony, reception, all of it. And of course, it started to rain. They had a long ceremony planned with several songs, praise and worship with the guests and a longish charge by the pastor. Communion and a sand ceremony were also planned. So...when it started to sprinkle pretty hard a quarter of the way through the ceremony, it wasn't good.
As I was kneeling in the grass, snapping away, I had a little prayer moment with Jesus. It went something like this, Lord, please keep the rain away till the reception.
It continued to sprinkle. Internally, I was resigning myself to getting up shortly and capturing all four hundred guests running for the tent. And then the Holy Spirit asked me if I really believe God when he says to ask for things in his name. So I asked again. And made an attitude adjustment. Now, it's really not that easy to sit in the damp grass, as the raindrops are falling and believe fervently that the rain is going to stop.
But guess what, it did.
And God reminded me. I am a Christian. That's not a lifestyle choice. That's a relationship with the eternal and all powerful God of the universe. If he cares about a wedding ceremony, then he definitely cares about the deep parts of my heart and He's kinda got that under control too.
To follow that up, God gave Jeremy exactly the right words for a powerful service this Sunday.
