Spring Time and Weddings

We are still sorting out much of our stuff and came across many old family photos.  I’m assembling the “hall of fame” which is in our main foyer, the first thing you see when you walk in our home.  Many memories, snapshots taken in a split second of time, bring a quick smile across my face remembering good times.  I came across many old photos of Mike and I; it’s hard to believe we’ve been married 23 years.  

Next month more young couples we know are embarking on the married life.  It’s a journey that takes hard work, selflessness, and sacrifice but having a life mate by your side is well worth the struggles you’ll encounter.  I’ve recently learned my good friend Mike Parry is getting married the same day as another young friend, Matt Cheshire.   It seems like yesterday they were both in my church youth group in Gainesville, FL.  Aaah, the memories… from sadness to gut wrenching laughs… this is the stuff life is made of, and the stuff they’ll experience as they travel down matrimony road.

Spring time is not only a time of weddings but also gardening.  In Mississippi it has literally exploded in green.  We are finally landscaping the front yard.  I now know why people pay others to do this kind of work.  As soon as I get it done, I will post the photos. 

They say new things often happen in the spring.  One new thing is that my brother has relocated from California to Mississippi and has undergone minor southern shock but all in all, he loves it here.   He is living with us for now and is enjoying it.  Alan fishes every afternoon in our private lake, already catching some bass.  He loves the outdoors and enjoys cruising the riding lawn mower.  Getting away from the city life and moving into the country, you somehow connect closer to God.  You can finally see the amazing constellations and stars He created in the clear wide night sky, away from the ambiance of city lights.  This morning I watched the moon slide away over the misty lake and when I came home, I watched the labs leap into the lake to take a dip and lap up some cool water.  Slowing down makes you appreciate the little things around you, the things you once traveled too fast to see. 

I pray that God intersects into your life and that He shows you new things and a new path you should take.   I hope that you’ll hear His voice and follow this new road, that you see the amazing things He has created, the incredible things He has done for you in the past and that He is doing for you right now.  May you be strong, courageous and intentional as you embark on the path knowing that He is always walking beside you and He has never left you.  May the Holy Spirit give you a sense of peace and encouragement as He gently nudges you in the direction you should go and in doing the things you should be doing with your life.  Don’t waste your gifts and talents, but use them for the glory of Him who created you and for pointing the way to those that are lost so they can arrive in the same eternal destination as all believers —in heaven.