A Beautiful Beginning

Last week we had the privilege to attend and participate in my childhood best friend's wedding. It was truly beautiful. I will never forget Grace's face as she came down the aisle, scrunching her face, trying not to cry, staring at her husband-to-be in complete wonder, amazement, and joy. Now, I'm not normally one for romance. My friends say I'm improving, but ask Nathan and it's still more likely that I will respond to any romantic gesture with confusion and need for a logical explanation rather than warm fuzzies and batted eyes. But, I must say, Grace and Austin's relationship is one of my all time favorites. As I said in my speech at the wedding, they exhibit the definition of love. They are selfless, kind, forgiving, caring, hard working. Grace sees the absolute best in Austin at all times. He is her rock. Austin adores Grace. He lives to make her happy. They can't stand to be apart for more than two weeks (and now they don't have to!). As Austin explained it, he has driven the circumference of the earth to be with Grace for just a few hours on the weekends when they were separated between work in Indiana and grad school in Iowa. But the real reason why I love Austin and Grace is that their relationship is completed founded on Christ. When Austin first asked Grace if she would go on a date with him, she said no, because his faith was not strong enough. Rather than mope or become angry and give up, he respected her decision and proceeded to look into the faith she expressed. Over the course of the summer, through many podcasts, questions, and conversations with Grace and other trusted friends, he came to Christ as his personal savior. From that point on, he has led their relationship spiritually, always serving to be more like Christ and to love Grace as Christ loves his bride. Nathan and I work with a lot of hurting teens and a lot of broken families. I wish I could show Grace and Austin off to all of my students, just so they could understand what true love looks like. I wish Grace could tell her story to every one of my girls, so they know what it means to be fought for and sacrifice for another. I wish I could show a video of our friendship, so my girls would know what it means to choose to love each other, despite all odds, and to give abundant grace when it is needed. But for now, I will have to be satisfied telling the stories myself and praying my girls will hear the truth. Please pray with me for Grace and Austin as they begin their new life together and that the love of Christ would be made known through their example.