Upon hearing the news of my engagement, one of my closest friends shared a word of advice with me that he had received just after his engagement: “Cherish this time.” My mind keeps going back to this phrase over and over as the weeks have passed. Other friends have told me of their misery during their engagements…the conflict of feeling ready but having to wait. And I can relate to that!
Remember eating lunch and then being told you can’t jump in to that swimming pool until 20 minutes have passed? Remember looking at that cool, blue, refreshing water and the other people enjoying it? Remember how your body ached when those 20 minutes felt like 200 minutes?
Yeah, it’s like that.
But that first dive was always worth the wait.
And I’m definitely cherishing the wait.
Because God is preparing me to become one with another. And preparing her to become one with me. And today, as on many other days, he gave me a beautiful glimpse of how he’s doing just that.
Joanne is enrolled in JMU’s Washington DC internship program for this semester, which means her weekdays, and some weekends, are spent in downtown DC. Needless to say, we cherish our brief time together on those weekends she can come home to Harrisonburg. This weekend was extra special – she was able to stay through Monday.
The extra time together made saying goodbye extra hard. At 5:30, I received a phone call from Joanne asking me to meet her in the parking lot at my office to say goodbye. I could hear the sorrow in her voice as she spoke. But when I embraced her as she cried into my shoulder, I felt differently than I expected.
Strong.
Affirmed.
Reassured.
Fulfilled.
Loved.
Cherished.
Her vulnerability, her true, unfiltered love for me came pouring out of her as she clung to me, and I have never believed in God more than in that moment. Out of her pain, I was lifted up. Out of her suffering, I was renewed. Out of her sorrow, I became glad. Not because I delight in her sorrow, but because I know where it comes from: straight from her heart!
And in this I’m reminded of Christ’s love for the church, and how out of his suffering we are made new. How through his death, we have been given life.
And in his grace,
now and then,
he gives us glimpses of how he’s working us out for his glory.
Cherish each one.
And though your body lay weary from wasting,
And your eyes show the sorrow they’ve had,
The love that your heart is now tasting
Has opened the gates, be ye glad!
“Be Ye Glad,” as sung by GLAD
Filed under: heart
This reminds me of HIS delight in being our comfort and place of greatest longing…HE wants to be the person we go to for all that we need, in every single messy moment of our lives…
Thanks, Z.
You know we are so happy for you two.
As a parent I know my wife & I rejoice over God’s goodness in the life of our kids and His love for them and us. As a couple, we thank you for going to the trouble to publish this testimony of God’s grace & faithfullness. What seems like a little glimpse of Christ’s love for is, is usually a huge revelation! Thanks for sharing this!
Love you guys!
Karl