You Can't Hurry Love

Well, hello. It's been a couple weeks, and I apologize for my absence. I promise I wasn't giving the silent treatment, I've just been slightly busy. You see...

I GOT ENGAGED! Very exciting times in my life right now, just very consuming also because we are planning and executing a large scale, yet on-a-budget, wedding in under 4 months time. YIKES! Are we crazy, you ask? Hmmm...probably a little. :)

Anyway, during the rush of activity over the days, and now weeks, since Aron Carpenter (that's his name) popped the question, I've realized there are some things you can hurry. Like for instance, you can microwave your dinner, you can take a short cut to the store, you can hop in a bulbed bed or go for a spray if you want a quick tan, and if you have decent connections, flexible expectations, and a bevy of generous and capable friends, you can even hurry a wedding. BUT, and this is very important, so make sure you grasp it, there are some things you absolutely can not hurry. And, as the old song goes--YOU CAN'T HURRY LOVE...or MARRIAGE, for that matter. At least not the kind God has really ordained, and will really bless.

I am 29 years old, and I have been in love before--at least to one degree. But, not the kind of love to build a marriage on, love to serve as the foundation for a lifetime. Had I hurried to the altar then, I guarantee it would have been very far less than God's best. Though painful, I am so grateful I chose (and in some ways, was forced) to wait on God's man, God's timing for my life.

There may be some of you out there right now feeling very lonely, and wishing desperately to be in a relationship, in a marriage. You desire this so much that you may just jump into something, anything that offered that future to you. I just want to encourage you to wait on the Lord. Be confident in His attention to you, His provision of you, His plan to fulfill the desires of your heart as you walk closely with Him. The Bible tells us that God is conscious of even the smallest of sparrows--so how certain can we be that He is very aware of us?!

Let me encourage you with this...Both my fiance and I waited on God, in a variety of ways, to bring us His best for our lives. It was not easy on many, many days...and there were periods when each of us faltered, choosing to pursue relationships of our own design, rather than His. But, ultimately, both Aron and I laid our hopes and dreams for a love and a life-partner at the feet of the Lord, and He has proved Himself faithful. He has so thoroughly come through for us that it is hard to explain it all in words and this limited space. God was preparing us for one another over all this time...as a matter of fact, just recently we found out a piece of history that tells me God's plan for Aron and I is 30+ years in the making--but, I'll save that for another blog. :)

I know God is preparing great things for you too! Be patient, let Him work, let Him piece everything together in just the right way to meet your wants and your needs. He'll do it...just you wait and see!

"Be confident of this, He who began a good work in you will be faithful to complete it." Philippians 1:6

Freedom

We're on the verge of a big holiday weekend...It's Independence Day, people! And, you know what that means, don't you?!

Fourth=Friends, Family, Food, Fireworks, Fun, Freedom.

But, it's the last one that got me thinking...Now, just go with me for a minute, ok?

Have you ever examined yourself and wondered where you get those weird freckles? Or your crooked smile? How about your goofy sense of humor or your love of all foods Italian?...I have. For instance, I have green eyes. I’m pretty sure I get those from my Mom—or possibly the Mason Family in general, since there are lots of green eyes on that side. I also have an uncanny ability to eat ridiculous amounts of food for a girl. I definitely get that from my Grandma Young. Then, there’s my stubborn streak—I’m positive I get that from my dad, my mom, both sets of grandparents, uncles, aunts, great-grandparents…Frankly, I could probably go back generations and still find strains of it! And, I can’t forget my chubby toes…I have yet to find a family member willing to claim responsibility for that heritage.

Ok, so fat toes may not be a legacy I’m real grateful for, but there are other aspects of what my ancestors have given me that I value beyond measure. Like the opportunity to live free. In my family heritage I have people who have fought and sacrificed so that I would have the chance to live in freedom. What a gift!

My grandfather was a solider in WWII. When the Axis powers threatened the world at large, and the democracy of America, He stood up and fought back. He was in Pearl Harbor, he jumped on D-Day. He was wounded in France and received the Purple Heart for his passionate commitment to fighting for the right to have freedom.

I also have a great-great-great-great grandfather, named John, who fought in the Civil War. Born a southerner, he gave up his entire family, who disowned him, when he joined the Union Army. He was even forced to change his last name. He chose Mason. This man lost nearly everything, including a leg in the Battle of Gettysburg on July 3, 1863—exactly 145 years ago tomorrow. He sacrificed all this by choosing to fight for the right of all people to have freedom.

Freedom is even part of why I love my church so much. We are affiliated with the Free Methodist Denomination…The Free Methodist Church was founded in 1860 and the issues of the church’s creation included so many freedoms that it would have been difficult to give the new church any other name than “Free Methodist”. For instance, they stringently opposed slavery and fought to abolish it. Also, in the new “free” churches, the pews were free, in contrast to regular Methodist churches which either rented or sold their pews, thus relegating the poor to the back. In the new church, even the poorest people could sit where they chose without having to “rent” or “buy” a pew to worship God. “Free" Methodists called for free seats for everyone and anyone! (www.cornerstonefmc.org)

I’m sure if I was able to trace my family and church history back even farther, I would find multiple tales of how those who came before worked, battled, and sacrificed to give me the incredible opportunity to live free. I know that most, if not all, of you could share similar stories. It is a gift our forefathers have given to their children, and their children’s children, and so forth. It is a legacy they started and has continued. Now its time for us to play our part—They believed the chance to have a life of freedom was a gift they were willing to die for…Is it a gift we are willing to LIVE for?