Doors. The doors opened, the tears came suddenly and unexpectedly. The doors the hands of her father had made for this specific occasion. Made with love. His bare hands, calloused and splintered as he measured, stripped, nailed, painted these doors. These white, dazzling doors - made to introduce a bride to her groom for the first time.
Aisle. As I watched one of my dearest friends walk down the aisle to her groom, tears streamed down. Because she was stunning, yes. Because the man who loved her was also crying, yes. Because of the sweetness that surrounded that whole day, yes. But there was something deeper, stirring in my heart as I watched the beauty unraveling before me.
White. Who knew a color could be so powerful. Doors. Dress. Veil. A color so pure, a color so deep. A bride dressed in white. A bride dressed in purity. A bride dressed in the deep love of Christ.
Rain. The light drizzle of raindrops hit my skin. More like a mist, really - barely there but making its presence known.
Grace, my heart sings,
there's always grace.
And I see and I hear, as if with two different eyes and ears. One eye sees the beautiful union of a bride and her groom. One ear hears the words of two people madly in love with each other and with Christ.
But the other eye sees Jesus and His bride, standing at the altar. And Jesus is pledging His undying, compassionate, grace-filled love to her. The other ear hears,
Ella, this is how I love you.
And I take it all in:
the doors, the aisle, the white, the rain. And I am overcome again with emotions I did not even know I had. And I see, as though it is the first time, Christ's love for me. He opens the eyes of my heart to see
straight into the heart of God. And it is a heart that beats for me.
And that is enough.
Then it is announced: "I now proclaim you Mr. and Mrs. Michael DeVita!"
Happiness and joy is seen all around. Shouts of confirmation and excitement escape from the crowd. And you couldn't wipe the smiles off the bride and groom's faces if you tried.
So we dance. We sing. We eat delicious food. We celebrate the marriage of these two beautiful friends of mine.
And this was my weekend. What a sweet time it was to catch up with so many friends from home, dance the night away, hang with the rents and watch one of my best friends get married!
"The leftovers of Your grace would satisfy me for eternity." - John Piper
"Deep calls to deep in the roar of your waterfalls; all your waves and breakers have swept over me."
-Psalm 42:7
Oceans and oceans and oceans of grace.
