Good Friends, Good Times!

Chet and I went to Atlanta over the weekend for our friend Kyle's wedding. Chet mentored Kyle when Kyle was in college, and Gabe's middle name is Kyle after this same fellow. We absolutely LOVE Kyle... seriously... intensely... like he's our brother. He's one of those people who is so close to our hearts that we agreed a long time ago we'd travel just about any distance to see him get married. WE LOVE KYLE! So we drove to Atlanta for his wedding. Kyle actually lives in Houston, so the drive to Atlanta was practically a hop, skip, and jump down the highway!

It would not have worked well for the boys to go along, so the Bloom and Murray families were so gracious to split the weekend and care for them while we were gone. What a treat! Ladan got to play in three different basements! He loves basements (and even prayed last night thanking God that his next house will have a basement... we'll see if he's right when we even think about moving). Oh, they had so much fun, and we didn't have to worry for a second about whether or not they would be okay. We are so blessed to have so many families in our church that literally feel like our own family!

Anyway, we showed up for the rehearsal a little bit late because we hit rush hour traffic coming into town. We arrived and changed at the church. I'm so thankful that I did my make-up and curled my hair in the car on the way! Yes, indeed, I did say I curled my hair in the car while we were driving. I didn't burn myself or anything else even a single time. It was great! When we were all ready, we walked into the sanctuary and saw Kyle and Amanda. I seriously had to restrain myself from running to the front of the church and giving Kyle a massive hug... but I held back.

I'll spare you all the details, but throughout the course of the rehearsal dinner, I think we all cried at least once (Chet, Kyle, and I) because we were so happy to see one another. Later that night, I was fairly emotional (Chet won't argue that one bit). Once I got through talking to Chet about all kinds of things, I just couldn't help but bawl my eyes out like a baby because I was so THANKFUL to the Lord for providing the perfect woman for Kyle. Amanda is seriously amazing! They just go together.

I think I got all my tears out on Friday night, but then Chet had to let the waterworks loose on Saturday off and on. He probably cried at least 5 or 6 times that I saw. He was so proud of Kyle and just so overwhelmed with gratitude that the Lord saw fit to put Kyle and Amanda together! Do you know how sometimes you can physically feel your heart almost like it's going to explode right out of your chest? That's how we both felt. What mercy and grace we saw this weekend! And what a joy it was to actually see our dear, dear friend in real life again. It's one thing to hear his deep broadcast-ready voice on the phone, but it's another thing to see his amazing smile and bright eyes in person. And, as if that wasn't enough, he would be a really strong contender for the "Best Hug Giver In the World" contest... if there was such a thing.

Kyle has always amazed us with his keen ability to sense how the Lord is directing him, test it against the Word, repent of sin if necessary, and move forward in faith. He was sitting in our room just a couple of hours before his wedding, and I asked him how he was doing, how the week was, etc. He told us about one of the really important lessons he had learned just that week....

Basically, he felt kind of crumby all week (physically). That on top of all the busyness of preparations and a lack of sleep resulted in him kind of checking out and basically not being mentally present on Thursday. Amanda responded so well to this, but she definitely noticed and asked him about it. After they talked about it for a while, he said he realized that when he checked out, she became paralyzed in a sense. She just didn't know what to do or how to act around him. She didn't want to start telling him what to do and getting frustrated for sure. Even though she did really well, he realized that he has no right to quit leading or being involved just because he's experiencing stress. He was so thankful to the Lord for showing this to him before he got married, even if it was just two days before.

All weekend, we heard over and over from all kinds of people about what a prayer warrior Amanda is. We heard Kyle talk about how she's supported him and prayed that the Lord would direct him in every way with regard to their relationship. We heard her family talk about how they have all been praying since Amanda was tiny that God would send her a godly husband... and about how Kyle is indeed the answer to all their prayers. I don't know about you, but that's really great motivation to be even more diligent in the same way, praying for my boys and their future wives.

Chet read scripture during the wedding and did a really awesome job! He had no microphone, but he projected his voice and read in such a way that even the people in the back of the sanctuary said that they appreciated the power with which he delivered the Word. All kinds of people kept commenting on how he did so well at making the Word come to life. They were right!

We took an extra night to stay and hang out while we could. It was our first getaway in three years (and the last one was only one night). We went to a Braves game, which was fun. We realized that we end up going to a baseball game pretty much every time we go on vacation. I guess that's a fun tradition, and I don't mind keeping it up.

We also spent some time talking about our personal and family goals for the next year. That conversation had its ups and downs for sure, but in the end, I think we're on the same page. If we decided to summarize with a theme (something that my friend, Jessica, is really good at), I think we'd arrive at "teamwork". Because of Chet's school and work schedule, it's really easy for us to get into a groove but end up doing "my thing" or "your thing". The idea is that we will work hard to do the things that we need to do and then make sure that we're asking how everyone else is doing in the quest to accomplish his/her goals. This will allow us to be even better encouragers of one another and to help one another even more. It's an elementary concept, and I'm just going to assume that we're not the only family on the planet that has to be intentional in this way if it's going to actually happen. I think I'll designate a separate post to a list of our goals.

I was kind of on fire all weekend coming up with all sorts of witty things to say (at least I thought they were). One time, I was holding a bag of coffee beans. I smacked Chet on the back with it and told him that I "beaned" him! And as we were driving to Kyle's wedding, there was a neighborhood on the left side of the road with a sign that said, "The opportunity of a lifetime" or something like that. I told Chet that we should tell Kyle we passed by the opportunity of a lifetime to come to his wedding! I forgot about it, and it's probably just as well. Enough of my shenanigans!

I also went to the doctor today and had my follow-up appointment after the lab work I had done about 6 weeks ago. It was very helpful, but I'll write more on that later.

Finally, if you remember, please pray for my brother. He just got back from Sudan again on Saturday, and he's pretty sick. It seems to get worse every time, and they're not exactly sure what the problem is... except that his leg pain is related to his sensory neuropathy and that he is very nauseous for a very long time after he gets home almost every time. Thanks!