When God writes a love story, it always begins with His love for us. God did an incredible work in my heart during the last half of 2015 and into 2016, pruning away the fruitless branches of selfish desires and demands and replacing them with a contentment in Him alone—a true, genuine, God-is-more-than-enough contentment.
In 2016, Joe, a recent widower whose wife had passed away in 2015 following a long and courageous battle with heart disease, began to write me letters and to call occasionally. We had been family friends, due in part to the fact that his late wife had been my father’s secretary over forty-five years prior to this time. Because Joe and I were both well into our adult years, it was soon apparent that this new turn on an old friendship was pointing to a conclusion that neither of us had expected or had even thought of. It was no longer a matter of “if” we would be together but a matter of “when.” Unlike many couples who start dating, we already knew each other’s love for God, each other’s character qualities, each other’s highs and lows, and each other’s personalities. Now we were just viewing them from a different, God-given perspective!
After we spoke to one another of the love God had placed in our hearts for each other and Joe had verbalized his long-term intentions, he gave me a wondrously beautiful pendant—at the red covered bridge at Das Dutchman Essenhaus—as a symbol of that love. We could not help but claim Psalm 118:23 as “our verse.” Our relationship—something God brought about in His time and in this season of our lives—truly was “the Lord’s doing.” Therefore, it was “marvelous in our eyes.” In light of specific timelines that had to be considered in our planning, we planned to become officially engaged on June 17, 2016.
On that same date, unbeknownst to Joe, I also launched my third devotional book, Petals from the Basket (Book 3). But more about that in a moment.
Early that morning, Joe and I once again headed to the red covered bridge on the property of Das Dutchman Essenhaus, and as he asked me to marry him and presented me with a ring (that part was a surprise, even though the timing wasn’t), I did not speak an immediate reply.
After a brief pause, I said, “I suppose I need to give you an answer.” That’s when I presented him with a copy of the book that was launching that day and said, “And now it’s my turn to surprise you!”
I opened the front pages and asked him to read the dedication. Taking my cue, in part, from a favorite line in Pride and Prejudice, the dedication stated: “To Joe – Yes. A thousand times yes.”
So why share that in a devotional post on the blog today? Because I was reminded this morning how often I ask God to wait for my reply—how often I give Him a half-hearted yes. I say yes when it’s convenient, when it fits into my preconceived expectations, when it furthers the desired result for my own plans.
Oh faith-friend, we miss out on so much that way. We must trust, love, and commit to give to our Lord an undeniable yes when He asks us to follow Him, to trust Him, to lean on His understanding (see Proverbs 3:5-6). As we learn to reply willingly with the certainty and determination of a thousand yeses, His direction and leading will become increasingly clear, and we too can proclaim, “This is the Lord’s doing; it is marvelous in our eyes” (Psalm 118:23, KJV).
