TRUST

Last December, our sweet son proposed to a wonderful girl (whom we already consider our daughter) and we began planning a wedding...Not just any wedding- THE WEDDING. I love weddings, I love planning, I love having something to look forward to. So, we began. Christiane's Mom was a dear friend of mine, and we had often talked of our childrens' weddings. Of course, we didn't know they would be marrying each other! Neat how the Lord works things like that out. I had always lamented the fact that I had no daughter, and therefore, would not get to "DO" a wedding. I often joked that all I had to do was buy a ham for rehearsal and we were ready! Well.......fast forward to 2010 and I found myself getting to 'DO' a wedding. Yay! Christiane knew just what she wanted...well, kinda. She wanted a Christmas Wedding. Snow. Royal Blue. Winter Wonderland.Lots of "WOW!" Christiane and Casey's favorite time of year is Christmas. They love the food, the music, the weather and the family-time. They wanted their Day to be just like that- Christmas Dinner, Christmas Music, Snow and everyone they love to be right there with them. Larry and I promised them that we would help them financially and we would WORK OUR SELVES TO DEATH! And that is just what we did.

Christiane and Casey worked so hard....they planned...they saved....they sacraficed. And in the end-they had the Perfect Day!

In January, we sat down and made a plan of things we wanted to do. Things we HAD to have, things we wanted and things that were options. We made lists, looked through pictures and prayed. Larry and I both felt that God asked us to not go into debt for the wedding. We asked Casey and Christiane to do the same. Of course, they were free to do whatever they wanted, but we encouraged them to stay debt free. I told them how great of a blessing it would be to begin their lives with no debt. We really had not idea how that was going to work, but we agreed. I worked as much as I could to add to the Wedding Kitty. I thought that a job would be the answer. Apparantly, the Lord thought otherwise. I promised Him that I would work as if the Wedding was my job, in an attempt to save money-'earn' my wages by being the Brides' Slave. =)

While praying, I said a phrase that I often say. "Lord, help me to trust You."
I instantly felt the Lord ask me, "What if one of your children needed help trusting you?"

whoa.

I cried.

I cried.

I repented.

I promised Him that I trusted Him.

I changed the way I prayed.

I began praying and telling the Lord that I trusted Him. I know that He knows our hearts better than we do- but I wanted Him to know. Everytime I would pray, instead of begging Him for whatever I needed, I told Him how much I trusted that He would do the right thing would provide in whatever way He saw fit.

He met our needs every time....but not always in the ways I thought....imagine that.

The two main expenses that we had promised were the photographer and the caterer. The Caterer, who happened to be friends of ours, didn't want to tell us a price until they actually 'worked'. We understood, as they didn't want to overcharge, but it made it the day of the wedding before we knew the total. So on Saturday, Larry makes our final withdrawal from our Savings Account. He reminds me that if they need more than that, we will have to get it from our personal savings. Ok...."TRUST"

I suppose you know that when the night was over, we had the exact amount needed. We laid our heads down and owed no one A DIME! We are so thankful. The Lord provided through using others. We had so many wonderful people donate things and many, many family and friends just helped. It was amazing. It was heart warming. It showed us that there are good people in this world. Our Christian family is a WONDERFUL family to be a part of. It taught me a very personal lesson in trust.

God CAN be trusted...and I am forever thankful.