love

June is the month of weddings. My Facebook feed is filled with beautiful pictures of love. Couples getting married and couples celebrating their years of wedded bliss. I read beautiful sentiments of love and adoration from wives and husbands. I see pictures of young love with their whole lives stretching before them and you can see the fairy tale dreaming in their eyes.

Yesterday was my turn. My turn to celebrate 18 years of being married to the guy who loves me best. As we shared publicly our love and commitment to each other and received warm “happy anniversary’s” from loved ones, I could not help but think about the countless people who hurt over broken marriages, unrealized dreams and pain of the past. Many of my friends are battling major hurts in their own marriages. So if I could sit with you this morning and share with you from my heart, this is what I’d say.

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A few weeks ago in our small group we contemplated the question, “Is the Creator of the Universe concerned about the minute details of our lives”? It’s a big question and I’m quick to answer yes. But then I wonder, is He really or am I just so concerned with my life that I assume God must be up in Heaven equally deliberating over weather or not I should wear the brown shoes or the red shoes. Like I said, it’s a big question…thankfully, He’s an even bigger God. I don’t think God is as concerned about the color of my shoes as He is with where I’m going to be walking in those shoes-to serve Him, to minister to a neighbor, to love on my family.

However, I do believe God is in the small things and sometimes He gives a clear sign that say’s “I’m here and I’m listening and if it’s important to you, it’s important to me”. Last night I decided to make a chicken spaghetti dish for a sweet family who is in my small group. They are moving this weekend and she is super pregnant. I went to the grocery while I did not have the 9 month old baby who hates to shop with me. When I got home I realized I had forgotten the bell pepper. Now my husband quickly encouraged me to just forget about the pepper. But I promise you, it is not the same…it NEEDS the bell pepper. I began to contemplate when I could get the pepper…I had my ladies Bible study in the am and then I needed to prepare the dish. I could get the pepper on the way home, but Sam falls asleep and so waking him up to go in the store..blah, blah, blah…you mom’s get it…a nightmare. I went to bed thinking about the pepper and I woke up thinking about the pepper.

When I walked into my ladies Bible Study, a large room with probably 25 big round tables, all covered in white table clothes – I kid you not…there was one table in the middle that stood out…almost like it had a light from Heaven shining down on it. At each place setting at the table was one perfectly perfect bell pepper. I knew instantly that was my table and sure enough one of the sweet momma’s at my table had picked us each a pepper from her garden and brought them to share.

God gave me a bell pepper this morning and whispered “I love you”. I cried over the stinkin pepper…but I really cried over the undeniable presence of the “God who sees” me and my need for a bell pepper. So…What is God whispering to you? How is He showing you that He sees you?

Image: Suat Eman / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

For Those Who Hurt in the Month of Weddings

Peppers from Heaven?