From the “Mother of the Groom”

I woke this morning to the sound of thunder.   No, not the Bob Seger song.   Noise – In the kitchen.  Rory.  He’s a noisy kid.  Oh, and he’s messy too.

There is “stuff” scattered, everywhere.  All the time.   But I loved that we sat and chatted for a while before he took off.   I love those chats.  I’ll miss those chats.  A lot.

After he left, I sat in my room and prayed, because today begins the festivities.  Rehearsal at 6 p.m., dinner following at our house.  It’s going to get crazy.  He’s out enjoying the day with his bride.  And THAT is just where he SHOULD be.

But while I was praying, there was the startling sound of glass SHATTERING.   My heart raced, and I ran downstairs to see what had happened.  My favorite coffee cup – broken in a gazillion pieces all over my kitchen floor.

Prayers interrupted.

I guess now, I have to vacuum.  And just like that – I put GOD off.  “I’ll be back in a little while, Lord, and I’ll finish talking to you then.”

But as I vacuumed, I thought – Wait just a minute.  I see what’s happening here.

So just like that, in mid-vacuum, I shut it off, and I came back upstairs, sat down, and began to pick up where I left off.   The glass isn’t going anywhere.  The vacuuming can wait.

It’s been a rough year – busy for ALL of us, though in different ways, emotional for the parents of two kids making a HUGE, life-changing decision, and for all those involved, with the process of planning things.   It’s been nuts.   Rory and Holly have been determined to make this happen just exactly how they dreamed of for so long, and they have worked their tails off to bring it to fruition.  Holly’s parents have done the same thing, as well as “house”  all of their gifts, AND opened up their garage to the furniture refinishing hobby Holly and Rory have recently taken up.   For me, it’s been an emotional roller coaster because I have at times allowed my concerns about their young age to get in the way of my KNOWING that they were meant for each other.

They are.   They are meant for each other.

As I was leaving work last night, one of my co-workers hugged me and whispered in my ear, “When you dance with your son, you are to REMEMBER the first time you held him in your arms, and felt his sweet baby breath on your neck.”   Well – That was all that was needed to make me start crying – Because it’s true.  I remember like it was YESTERDAY, ironing football decals on little blue onesies for my Rory.  And here we are today, preparing for him to take a wife.  Wow.

This world is a difficult place.  Cruel, actually.   It’s so hard as a Mom, to send my Rory out into the world.  Will I EVER feel like he’s prepared enough??  That was what I was thinking when I began vacuuming up the shattered glass.  And then, clear as a bell, the Lord spoke to my heart.

He has prepared Rory for this.   Rory and Holly know God.  They hear His voice, and they obey Him.   They focus their lives on Him.  They pursue Him with everything they have.  Both of their lives are headed in the SAME direction, toward the Cross.   So many of us have WATCHED this journey take place every step of the way.   They have both surrendered their LIVES to God individually, and the focus on their wedding night will be the promise to each other in the presence of God, as well as their complete surrender to Him, together, as a married couple.  He WILL use them.   The Bible says in Philippians 1:6, “being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.”

God doesn’t need them to have a good income before He can use them, or to have specific degrees, or a certain amount of money in the bank, or live in a particular zip code.   In fact, He doesn’t even need Rory to clean his room.

We’ve stood in awe at what He has done in their lives over the years, and now, we prepare to celebrate the beginning of a NEW journey for them!   How will the Lord use them as a married couple??   I for one, can’t wait to see……….

So, I’m excited this morning.   And I’m not going to let any more “shattered glass” moments into my prayers, or into my days this week.   Rory and Holly are a threat to the enemy, because I KNOW the Lord plans to use them in mighty, mighty ways.   (Please pray for them)

So this old mother-in-law-to-be is putting on the Armor of God (even before I “don” my Spanx) this morning.   And I’ll just shout out “The enemy’s been defeated!” while I vacuum up the glass.

If I could ask for any prayers these days, it would be that we could ALL concentrate on Jesus, and on the union of my son and his bride on Friday, their promise to God and to each other, and that they hear clearly the voice of the Holy Spirit, that they would ALWAYS obey Him, and stay focused on Christ, that I don’t step on Rory’s toes when we dance, and that I don’t look too, too fat in my dress.   NO distractions….   (Hey, God loves an honest prayer).  🙂

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3zRrS-qubXg