Trusting in the Lord: A Wedding Miracle
Deep down, we direct our disappointments toward God--thinking that somehow He let us down. We trust God with our eternal life; why then can we not trust Him amid the adversities of daily life?
Excerpt from Those Who Trust in the Lord Shall Not be Disappointed
Wedding Miracle story
When Angelia and David married we had the wedding and the dinner at our house on July 30, 1988. That particular year was during the height of the drought, and always in Texas, the end of July has some of the hottest days of the entire year—usually well over 100 degrees. We were dreading the heat and had prayed a lot about that.
Friends of mine were helping to decorate and coordinate the dinner outside on the lawn for over 300 guests who had responded favorably to the RSVP. As I said, this was before the drought had broken, and we couldn’t even remember a time in years when it had rained in July. In fact, rain that time of year was such a moot subject that we had not even thought to pray about it.
So you can imagine how shocked we were, when on July 30th, the darkest storm you can imagine began to build in the early afternoon. I remember looking out the upstairs’ window at the round tables with beautiful floor-length, pink linen tablecloths arranged in a semicircle. The large baskets of flowers on each table were being blown off and down the hill faster than the ladies could pick them up.
The sky was black. I’m not talking about a summer shower; I’m talking about a thunderstorm. The trees were filled with twinkly lights, and it looked as though the wind was going to blow them completely out of the branches.
In addition to that crisis, we had not heard a word from the band that was supposed to have been at the house by 2:00 p.m. The photographer, who was to fly over and take aerial pictures, had said, "I must have a perfectly clear day with no wind to get any good shots." And it was now 4:30 p.m. and the wedding would start at 7:00.
I cannot tell you the mental pictures that were flashing in my mind. I imagined guests drenched to the skin, or worse yet, no guests at all. Since the dinner was already prepared for over 300 guests to be served outside, where would I serve them if they did show up? In my wildest imagination I could not think of a solution.
Everyone kept running in and asking, "What do we do!"—as if I knew! Finally Jack and I closed ourselves up in the bedroom and prayed, "Lord, this is our biggest challenge up to this time. What do we do?" I had poured myself into that wedding for the past seven months, and giving in to disappointment and anger would have been the easiest thing in the world to do, but it calmed my emotions when I heard Jack say, "Lord, in this particular situation—our daughter’s wedding—we choose to trust You."
Having made that decision verbally, Jack lay down to take a nap. With all the upheaval that was going on, I was so shocked that I just said, "What are you doing?"—to which he calmly replied, "If we are trusting God to take care of things, I want to feel good enough to enjoy the party." My husband is something else! He never ceases to amaze me.
From 4:30 p.m. until 6:00 p.m. the sky stayed so black that it looked as though it would open up and flood. The wind was so terrible that the ladies had long since brought all the tablecloths and flowers inside. But right before the guests began to come at six, the storm just suddenly went around us. Within minutes the band from San Antonio drove up. They had been lost for the last two and a half hours! And it didn’t even sprinkle to mess up the grass.
About eight o’clock as the guests came out of the house to be seated for dinner after the wedding ceremony, the storm had gone exactly west of us. The tables were on a hill overlooking a valley to the west, and the sun setting behind those storm clouds was absolutely the most beautiful sight I had ever seen.
The very rain clouds that had threatened disaster turned out to create a breathtaking sunset. I don’t think we have ever had one as beautiful since. The guests could hardly eat their dinner for talking about it and jumping up to take pictures of it. Perhaps more pictures were taken of the sunset than of the bride and groom!
It was almost as if God had written His blessing in the sky. I know how Noah must have felt when he saw that rainbow. That sunset was definitely a perfect reminder that those who trust the Lord will not be disappointed—even when we can’t see a solution.
The storm going over had blown away the mosquitoes and had cooled everything down into the mid-seventies. On July 30th that is nothing short of a miracle. I just kept brushing back the tears that night with everyone thinking, of course, that it was because my daughter was getting married. In reality, the tears were because I could hardly contain the gratitude and excitement I felt in my heart toward God for His Goodness and for this wonderful scripture promise!
© 2006, Peggy Joyce Ruth
http://www.peggyjoyceruth.org
Wedding Miracle story
When Angelia and David married we had the wedding and the dinner at our house on July 30, 1988. That particular year was during the height of the drought, and always in Texas, the end of July has some of the hottest days of the entire year—usually well over 100 degrees. We were dreading the heat and had prayed a lot about that.
Friends of mine were helping to decorate and coordinate the dinner outside on the lawn for over 300 guests who had responded favorably to the RSVP. As I said, this was before the drought had broken, and we couldn’t even remember a time in years when it had rained in July. In fact, rain that time of year was such a moot subject that we had not even thought to pray about it.
So you can imagine how shocked we were, when on July 30th, the darkest storm you can imagine began to build in the early afternoon. I remember looking out the upstairs’ window at the round tables with beautiful floor-length, pink linen tablecloths arranged in a semicircle. The large baskets of flowers on each table were being blown off and down the hill faster than the ladies could pick them up.
The sky was black. I’m not talking about a summer shower; I’m talking about a thunderstorm. The trees were filled with twinkly lights, and it looked as though the wind was going to blow them completely out of the branches.
In addition to that crisis, we had not heard a word from the band that was supposed to have been at the house by 2:00 p.m. The photographer, who was to fly over and take aerial pictures, had said, "I must have a perfectly clear day with no wind to get any good shots." And it was now 4:30 p.m. and the wedding would start at 7:00.
I cannot tell you the mental pictures that were flashing in my mind. I imagined guests drenched to the skin, or worse yet, no guests at all. Since the dinner was already prepared for over 300 guests to be served outside, where would I serve them if they did show up? In my wildest imagination I could not think of a solution.
Everyone kept running in and asking, "What do we do!"—as if I knew! Finally Jack and I closed ourselves up in the bedroom and prayed, "Lord, this is our biggest challenge up to this time. What do we do?" I had poured myself into that wedding for the past seven months, and giving in to disappointment and anger would have been the easiest thing in the world to do, but it calmed my emotions when I heard Jack say, "Lord, in this particular situation—our daughter’s wedding—we choose to trust You."
Having made that decision verbally, Jack lay down to take a nap. With all the upheaval that was going on, I was so shocked that I just said, "What are you doing?"—to which he calmly replied, "If we are trusting God to take care of things, I want to feel good enough to enjoy the party." My husband is something else! He never ceases to amaze me.
From 4:30 p.m. until 6:00 p.m. the sky stayed so black that it looked as though it would open up and flood. The wind was so terrible that the ladies had long since brought all the tablecloths and flowers inside. But right before the guests began to come at six, the storm just suddenly went around us. Within minutes the band from San Antonio drove up. They had been lost for the last two and a half hours! And it didn’t even sprinkle to mess up the grass.
About eight o’clock as the guests came out of the house to be seated for dinner after the wedding ceremony, the storm had gone exactly west of us. The tables were on a hill overlooking a valley to the west, and the sun setting behind those storm clouds was absolutely the most beautiful sight I had ever seen.
The very rain clouds that had threatened disaster turned out to create a breathtaking sunset. I don’t think we have ever had one as beautiful since. The guests could hardly eat their dinner for talking about it and jumping up to take pictures of it. Perhaps more pictures were taken of the sunset than of the bride and groom!
It was almost as if God had written His blessing in the sky. I know how Noah must have felt when he saw that rainbow. That sunset was definitely a perfect reminder that those who trust the Lord will not be disappointed—even when we can’t see a solution.
The storm going over had blown away the mosquitoes and had cooled everything down into the mid-seventies. On July 30th that is nothing short of a miracle. I just kept brushing back the tears that night with everyone thinking, of course, that it was because my daughter was getting married. In reality, the tears were because I could hardly contain the gratitude and excitement I felt in my heart toward God for His Goodness and for this wonderful scripture promise!
© 2006, Peggy Joyce Ruth
http://www.peggyjoyceruth.org
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