A Magical, Miraculous Day...

Today we sit in the afterglow of a magical, miraculous day...

Where to begin?

Leah, Lucas, and Zach were talking this afternoon... "that was the best wedding we have ever been to"... "that was so much fun"... Leah... "I want my wedding to be just like that"...

It wasn't perfect... but it was such a peace-filled, beautiful, fun, emotional, love-filled, joyful day... full of healing... hope... promises for the future...

The Bible says in Isaiah 61...

3 and provide for those who grieve in Zion—
       to bestow on them a crown of beauty
       instead of ashes,
       the oil of gladness
       instead of mourning,
       and a garment of praise
       instead of a spirit of despair.
       They will be called oaks of righteousness,
       a planting of the LORD
       for the display of his splendor.

4 They will rebuild the ancient ruins
       and restore the places long devastated;
       they will renew the ruined cities
       that have been devastated for generations.

What true words.  Words that describe what God has done in my sister's life.

I missed an opportunity.  At the last minute the maid of honor decided she didn't want to give a "speech"... Lana said, "do you want to do it?"  My immediate, impulsive, spur-of-the-moment reaction was, NO!  I laid in bed last night, wishing I had said yes... 

So what would I have said?  I would have said these verses above... (but since I don't know them by heart, that wouldn't have worked very well!)  But, since we are just pretending anyway... I would have said those verses... and I would have said that my sister used to be a very happy, trusting, loving, joyful person... she was giving, smiley, and full of hope for a future...

Then I watched, helplessly,along with everyone else, as life took those things all away from her.  Years past, when I don't remember ever seeing my sister smile.  I didn't know how she was surviving.  And I questioned God on why these things were happening to her, the one who did things like she was supposed to, married a Christian man, and put God first, sought His will for her life... Why?

We prayed.  We prayed.  We prayed.  We prayed. 

The circumstances went from bad to worse... worse to yet worse... yet worse to even worse...

Divorce.

Pain.

Unbelievable hurt.

Then after years and years of watching her suffer... of praying for her... of trying to help her... my own life crashed in.

Suddenly we were in the same, but very different circumstances.

Suddenly we were both divorced.  We were both so hurting, we went through a season that we couldn't even speak to each other without hurting the other.

Healing is a slow process... and slowing things began to heal.

Ben came into Lana's life.  She was full of doubts at first... and so was I.

No one wanted to see Lana hurt again.  Not to mention her kids.

When we went to Florida this past March, I finally found peace about her relationship with Ben. 

And when I was taking their pictures for their wedding... my heart realized that the sister I had lost all those year ago had risen up from the depths of the ashes...

This was my favorite of the pictures I took that day...

My sister is so happy.  God brought oil of gladness to her instead of mourning.

My heart began to explode with the joy of God's miracle.

At the end of the day yesterday... she came to me and thanked me for all my help... All I could say with my whole heart was that I wouldn't have had it any other way... and I wouldn't have... I am so thankful that I didn't let the enemy and his evil come in and rob me of sharing in this beautiful day with my sister, her new husband, and their children... what a gift...

Pam