The lavish love of God

"The LORD did not choose you and lavish His love on you because you were greater or more powerful than other nations... It was simply because the LORD loves you." Deuteronomy 7:7-8a

This wedding planning sure wasn't what I had expected. Is anything in life ever what we expect? Don't answer that. Don't get me wrong, it has been wonderful. I've been waiting for twenty three years for this moment in time. God has brought me my Mr., and I'm becoming his Mrs.. What a wonderful thing. What more could I ask for? I have been praying since the night Mike proposed that this wedding would be a blessing to the people around us. Our friends and family, the baker, the chef, the minister, right down to the people who press the linens and built the roof of the chapel. I want every person who touches this wedding to see God's blessing in their lives. But I wanted something else too. To see His lavish love. To experience His extravagance. Now, I want to clarify, dear friends, for those of you who might misunderstand. I do not mean I want this wedding to shame the Trumps, Gates, or anyone within their circles. I do not want ice sculptures in our likenesses, or swans dyed to match the color scheme, or even a designer dress. No, I want to experience the kind of lavish love that only my Heavenly Father can provide. I have had the privilege of seeing this kind of love before, the kind of love that makes you embarrassed to share about with other people. But Mike hasn't. And I desperately want him too. So that's what I prayed for.

Let me clarify again: God is not Santa. He does not just hand out stuff when we ask Him for it. But, just as an earthly father, our Heavenly Father loves to give us gifts. And when He does, they tend to blow us away. He doesn't do it for the best of us, or for the worst of us. He doesn't do it to prove He's God, or that He can. He doesn't do it to make us like Him, or to make us jealous of other people. He is God. And He does what He does, the way He does, when He wants to. He is just, He is fair, and He is God. And there is nothing we can do to alter that. But, just like an earthly child, this child of Heaven just has to ask her Daddy for something she wants. My childlike heart just cannot be silent. Because His gifts never disappoint.

Let me also clarify: prayer doesn't work like a letter to Santa. The answers to our prayers rarely look the way we anticipate that they will. And this wedding is no exception. He has come through for us in ways I certainly did not anticipate. First, He made us financially able to have a wedding. A hugely enormous gift that I really did not know would appear. Then He found us a place- THE place, a chapel litteraly straight out of a picture He gave me in my head. A pastor there who will allow us to use their facility to express God's love to us, and our love to eachother the way we want to. A dear friend to do the ceremony and fill it with His love and our story, all rolled into one. A wonderful set of bridesmaids and friends He gave to me, to help me and support me along the way, and who will pay for my lunches and endure writer's cramp after addressing invitations. A family ready and willing to stay up late and be up early, buying out the city's supply of black ribbon, hounding hotel employees, cutting velum JUST the right way, traveling the eight hours to help me plan, and giving me encouragement along the way. And who love me over and beyond the call of duty, and love Mike in the same way. He gave me a wonderful wedding coordinator and terrific pair of photographers who will stop at nothing to capture my vision of the day. A reception hall that is charging me half, and will give the air of elegance and class I am looking for. A beautiful dress, my dream dress, altered just for me, and appearing three months ahead of all possibility- AND then giving me a seamstress that will charge us half the normal price and have it ready in one weekend. I'm crying as I write this, because on top of all of that, He saw fit to give me an increadably understanding fiance who lets me run wild with this, who trusts my judgement, and who tells me, "It's your dream, and I want to see it come true." A fiance who undertook the daunting and overwhelming task of finding us a place to live. And then He gave us a place. A house. A home. A place for us to relax, retreat to, recharge, rejuvinate, and call our own.

I am speachless. He did not lavish His love on us because we are better or smarter, wiser or more foolish, bigger or smaller, stronger or weaker, richer or poorer, in sickness or in health. He did it simply because HE LOVES US!