This week my daughter will be married. As I write that and read it over, I can't help but think, wow, how did that come so fast? But here it is, and with all the emotion that comes this week, my most true feelings are of overflowing love and gratitude. I say this because I know that no matter how the actual wedding day goes, these two are blessed and adored and meant to be.
I have a very dear friend who gave me the advice years ago, when my kids were all very young, to pray for their future spouses. I thought at the time, and still do now, that was the best advice ever, so I did. And here we are. God has been in the details of both of their lives, working out all the moments, and leading them to each other. I am truly thankful.
With all the little details to finish in preparation for the big day, this is what keeps popping into my mind:
God is in these details
God has plans for good
When I look to the Bible for those phrases, I find the following:
The Lord directs the steps of the godly. He delights in every detail of their lives. Though they stumble, they will never fall, for the Lord holds them by the hand. –Psalm 37:23-24
God has plans for good and not disaster, to give me a future and a hope. – Jeremiah 29:11
You may or may not be planning a wedding right now, but you're undoubtedly doing and going through something. Whether you're having a busy week, a fun week, a stressful week, a slow week, really any week, I hope these verses bring a fresh reminder of where you can place your confidence.
I started off this week thinking I wouldn’t share a God-weaved post, thinking there were too many other things I needed to do. But then I realized that I'm not the only one with many things going on, and that maybe the thoughts I share when I’m feeling a bit scattered or distracted by life might actually be words you need to hear. You might need to hear that God is interested in everything you're doing, in all that's going on, no matter what that is.
If you’re someone who likes to write or journal, which I know some of you are, I hope you find some time this week to write down your thoughts, or write a prayer to God and share the details you want him to walk through with you. One of the reasons I create these God-weaved posts and wrote a God-weaved journal is to encourage others to write out the daily story they find themselves in. I really believe it can help us find peace, feel God's presence, and hear him more clearly.
So, here are my main prompts for this week:
What are you busy doing this week?
What is causing you stress?
What do you hear God lovingly telling you in all of this?
What is your prayer back to God?
What is a verse you can repeat in your mind that will remind you of God’s presence and give you peace this week? (You can use the ones in this post as a start.)
For me, the main stressor of the week is obviously the hope that every detail of the wedding has been planned well and that nothing major will go wrong, but if I worry too much, all I will feel this week is tension. That will not help anything go better.
So, as I do the little things that need to be done this week, whether putting together the wedding favors, conferring with my daughter about final rentals and payments and coordination of everything, I plan to remind myself that all will be well. I know it’s not some magical guarantee that we haven’t forgotten something. It doesn’t mean something might go differently than we’ve planned. But it does mean that no matter what, God holds our hands, he guides our steps, and he has a plan that is good, not just for this day, but for every day forward. Every detail is seen by him, and every moment is one he cares about and walks through with us.
My prayer for you this week is that you feel God with you in your busy or in your slow, in every big picture and in every small detail, that you know his plans for you are good, that you feel his loving hand on you, guiding, helping, telling you he loves you, he delights in you, and he rejoices over you.
For the Lord your God is living among you.
He is a mighty savior.
He will take delight in you with gladness.
With his love, he will calm all your fears.
He will rejoice over you with joyful songs.” -Zephaniah 3:17