Good Gifts

It is like Christmas here every day! What fun we are having as the wedding details come together, items ordered arrive, and we pick up other items which are being personalized. This was the day we were to pick up the etched glassware. I didn't go with Kat to order in any of that so I had no idea what to expect. Katherine decided with the people at the shop what was going to go on her flutes, her vases, and her sand vase. Her and I had tossed around ideas but ultimately I knew the professionals were more qualified than I to help with that.

We were blown away by how gorgeous every thing is....and I mean GORGEOUS!

We left there and headed to Hobby Lobby, an almost daily venture as we attempt to get what we need on clearance! Today was success...flowers back on sale along with miscellaneous wedding items. We finished off the flowers and bought some tulle. That, ribbon, and bubbles are about what we are down to. (Yea) We finished all of that and after another detour came home. There was a box waiting-the fans came in! The fans didn't come assembled which is a plus, because we can run the backs through the printer to put the program on them! Told you....like Christmas.

It sure is hard to envision all the elements functioning as a whole. When we started the house reconstruction, that alone overwhelmed me. How would these colors work together, the textures, the details...it worked individually, would it work as a whole? Planning a wedding is like that too. Colors were chosen first, then design elements, flowers, what kind of decorations, dress and tuxes, flower girls and ring bearers outfits, all the little details that bring each of those individuals elements together in such a way to create a unique whole. Would it all work together?

In our house construction, and in our wedding planning, we are getting to see the finished product. The details in the house are gorgeous. Everytime we finish something, I stand back amazed that it all worked. I love the work we are doing, and I am loving the end product. The details of this wedding are gorgeous too. Words don't even capture how every part is contributing to the whole, how every detail reflects Katherine. Her personality is all over the place!

All of that brings me to another conclusion. As people, we are a conglomerate of our experiences: our childhood, the consequences of choices made, other people we encounter and the interactions we experience with them, our extended family and our friends, what we read, what we spend our energies on....all contribute to the whole. As an individual we also contribute to another whole, our families first, and then on a Spiritual level, to our church families. We complement one another, we serve one another, we are all important elements contributing to the whole. Although, we don't often get to see how it all comes together. We may never see a finished product.

Good gifts...every good gift comes down from Heaven (James). The best gifts, the gifts that matter, they don't come from catalogues, or department stores. They don't arrive in the mail. They come directly from God Himself! One of those gifts-love-and not just any love, but agape, true, unconditional love, is what marriage reflects. The kind of love that believes, bears, and NEVER fails comes directly from God! It is a good gift He expressed to us in sacrificing Jesus Christ for payment of our sin. We are able to love because He first loved us (I John). Thank you God for those good gifts!