I love October. Always have. Yeah, it’s my birthday month…but oddly, for much of my life I hated celebrating my birthday. More on that another time. This year will go down as my favorite birthday ever.

Can I first confess I went into this month with a whole lot of nervous anxiety?

As I’m writing, I’m watching wind whip the trees back and forth outside and rain coming down sideways. I just got back from taking Dave to the airport and got a text from him with this screenshot of his 10am Chicago Midway fight status:

Update #1: His flight left on time.

Nothing like hearing nationwide news at the beginning of the month about thousands of cancelled flights when you’re scheduled to make one of the most important flights of your lifetime. I mean I suppose we could’ve played it safe and started out the week before the wedding driving from Indiana to California. Thankfully, it didn’t come to that as our flight was not cancelled and left on time. In fact, all of our out of town family and guests arrived gorgeous Lake Tahoe without a hitch. The only hitch that weekend would be that of the bride and groom. See what I did there?

If you’re prone to obsessing over details and travel logistics, maybe a destination wedding is not for you. Having said that, I am in complete awe of the level of detail Meagan put into every imaginable aspect of her wedding. For starters, a “glass” wedding invitation with individually wax-sealed envelopes and hand cut dried babies breath?!

Of course, each guest table seating card was done in matching wax-seal. Then there were the wedding favors. The cake and dessert bar. The vow books. The anniversary wine box. The Disney movie “UP” themed guest sign-in keepsake. The bridal party’s personalized gift boxes – especially my “mom candle.” And don’t even get me started on the father daughter dance and her gift to Dave.

I mean I could go on and on…

I don’t know how many times and to how many people over the last few months I’ve said “I want a re-do on my wedding!” Speaking of my wedding, for 33 years my dress and veil have been hermetically sealed in the same box and kept in storage until Meagan asked me earlier this year if she could borrow my veil. No, not to wear, but to have small portions of the headpiece detail and veil material custom made into her garter. I was touched that she’d want to incorporate my veil into her special day and even more touched when I saw the finished product:

My life verse embroidered into her garter. STAAAWP IT ALREADY! As if everything wasn’t already making me cry. BTW, I had the honor of speaking at the ceremony. I’ll give you one guess which verse I used! *see previous blogpost

I must have gotten all the ugly crying out months before because I held it together pretty well on wedding day. It was the men who lost it. Nathan during his vows and Dave during his reception speech. It was absolutely perfect. In fact, everything that day was perfect. Perfect because every detail, every moment seemed to have God’s handprints all over it. Yes, even the gusts of wind dramatically whipping through the outdoor ceremony which prompted much prayer as I had earlier nervously watched the florists securing the floral arrangements on the altar frame.

Ahh yes, that weather thing. As if to further punctuate the day with one more gigantic exclamation mark, God held off a snow storm until precisely the moment the newlyweds made their grand exit into Nathan’s truck with the JUST MARRIED banner on the tailgate, friends and family cheering, accompanied by snow flurries sending them off down the mountain.

Update #2: Yesterday’s (10.24.21) storm brought record breaking rain and flooding. High wind advisory and chains required to/from Tahoe area with four feet of snow at the higher elevations aka the wedding venue.

I woke up this morning (10.25.21) to this text from a friend who was also at the wedding: “Glad the wedding was last Sunday instead of last night.” AMEN, SISTAH! I can’t even fathom the kind of pivoting we would’ve had to do and mess we would’ve encountered had the wedding been one week later – yesterday.

Instead, we got to enjoy my favorite season of the year at one of our favorite destinations in one of the world’s most scenic destinations with many of our favorite people.

I’m sitting here now eight days – post wedding – marveling at God’s timing, provision, and favor. All the answered prayers – even those I didn’t know I needed to pray. God knew.

His timing is everything. I’ve never been more in awe of it and its impact on my faith as well as ability to understand and articulate His word in a meaningful way. And so often in the most unexpected moments…

The Sunday before the wedding, our church’s message was based on Matthew 25:40.

“The King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.’”

No, it wasn’t any of the famous wedding Scriptures. It actually wasn’t wedding related at all. But since it’s my birthday month, it’s all part of why this has shaped up to be the best – and most meaning filled – birthday ever. You see, our church just did a 180 on the traditional concept of giving and ministry. I’ve lost count of how many times I’ve heard Matthew 25:40 usually at church events or concerts that gave opportunities to support orphans or the most needy of children from third world countries. There would be hundreds of children’s photos to choose from. How do you choose? Every time I walked away with twinges of guilt and rationalized “someone else will do it.” That Sunday (10.10.21) our church did a flip-a-roo and offered the opportunity for ME to be the one chosen by a child. BOOM! That’s the sound of my head exploding. I signed up online, uploaded my photo which would then be printed out from the World Vision office in Ghana and placed on a wall along with hundreds of other photos for a child to select from on “Chosen Day.” Can I tell you I’ve never been so humbled? And nervous. I actually said to Dave “What if no one picks me?” What if my photo is the last one left on the wall? This is the photo I submitted:

Yesterday was the big reveal day in Ghana. It was originally supposed to be last Sunday which was wedding day, but they had to open up an additional reveal day since the first one filled up so quickly. A good problem to have – well done, church. So, I got to give my undivided attention yesterday to two children in Ghana as they were revealed in a special email to me. Meet Tagarpuwob (4) and Clifford (6)!!

I’m still waiting for Tagarpuwob’s letter, but here’s Clifford’s letter written with assistance and translation:

I suppose this all might seem a little odd – the juxtaposition of these events. But really, they’re each interwoven in the themes of new hope, a brighter future, keeping commitments, deepening faith, and seeing Jesus’ handprint in all the details.

When I think about this birthday month, it really has been one gift after another in the form of so many incredible friends and family members along with every answered prayer and new memories to cherish. These are truly the best kind of gifts as they are the ones that will keep on giving.

“You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you so that you might go and bear fruit—fruit that will last—and so that whatever you ask in my name the Father will give you.” John 15:16

On the morning of the wedding, I non-intentionally woke up extra early. Lots of prayers swirling through my head and heart. One of them was for the day to not pass by in a blur. I wanted to remember, embrace, and savor each moment. My heart was already so full after the wedding, but God was like “No, there’s room for more!” Back in the old days – a million years ago when Dave and I got married – you opened gifts after you got back from your honeymoon. Yesterday, my gift was opening that email with Tagarpuwob and Clifford’s pictures. God sure knew how to put a big beautiful bow on October.