December 19, 2011

I thought last weekend was all planned out…little did I know.

If you have followed my work at Journey Ministries for long, you may recall that almost 10 years ago a young lady named Jana came from New Hampshire to live with Debbie and me, two old people she had never met. She stayed for eight months to receive ministry from the Lord that freed her from a tragic eating disorder. 

Eight years later, in September 2010, Debbie and I flew on short notice to New Hampshire to perform a wedding for Jana and her soon to be husband, Judd. The formal wedding originally scheduled for December in the Boston area was still held (and the pictures are awesome!). However, the ceremony I officiated was a simple affair on a hillside garden in Jana's hometown that would allow these two dedicated believers, who had saved themselves for their spouses, to try to conceive a child before Jana lost that capability to a genetic disorder. Nine months later, almost to the day, a little girl named Karis was born.

Now to my weekend. My daughter Danielle and her husband Jason conspired with many of Debbie and mine's friends to obligate us to a weekend full of activities. Little did we know that those arrangements had all been made under false pretenses so Debbie and I would be totally available to enjoy our Christmas gift from Danielle and Jason....they flew Jana and Karis from Washington DC to Orlando for the weekend (Judd followed on Friday after work). Debbie and I had not seen Jana and Judd since the September 2010 wedding...and had never met Karis (now six months old).

It was an incredible three days. Please allow me to share two very special moments.

The first came Thursday evening in Danielle's living room just after Jana and Karis had, in total suprise to us, walked into the room. I sat back and watched two extraordinarily happy young ladies...Jana and Danielle. Both had previously been so broken and in bondage to coping mechanisms that were endangering their very lives. Now they sat together, by the grace of Jesus significantly healed, married to strong spiritual men and incredibly happy. Our God is so good!

The other moment came as I held Karis in my arms. I have held many babies over the years; for two years I held infants every Sunday in the nursery at church. But Karis was different. She was the evidence of God's power to change a life. She represented the culmination of the Lord's work as He orchestrated events over ten years to heal the brokenhearted and set the captive free. As I held Karis in a private moment, I looked into her unknowing eyes and said, "Little girl, you are a display of God's grace. I love you so much." Having Karis in my arms gave me renewed hope, not just in the life to follow with Jesus, but in this life while still on earth.

And as I held her, I thought of another infant, born over 2000 years ago, who was the ultimate display of God's grace...

Merry Christmas!