“What’s with the wedding ring?”

I have a couple of super good buddies that I have deemed ‘my boys’. I’m blessed to get to work with them regularly, and, as soon as I heard the question, I was surprised I hadn’t brought it up myself. Now I was on the spot, and anyone that knows me knows that I do much better outside of “on the spot”. But here I was anyway.

“Is it so guys leave you alone?”

Oh right, I haven’t said anything yet. I look up at my boys and chuckle as I scramble in my mind to find my words… which is something I regularly struggle with under normal circumstances. I figured it might be easier just to show them the ring and let them fill in the blanks. Clumsily I said, “well that wouldn’t be a bad thing” while I hoped I didn’t drop it onto the pavement trying to hand it to them, “here, look at it… it’s also the only finger it fits on”.

If the images came through, you should be looking at a fairly wide silver band with gold inlaid for a cross and the name ‘Jesus’.

I don’t know about any of you, but for me this year could easily have been labeled as the year of the purge. I may live in a two bedroom apartment, but the amount of things that I have cast out of my home has been quite impressive. Among all of my sorting and going through things, I also organized and downsized my jewelry pretty significantly. In the middle of that process, I came across this little gem, and it’s been on my hand, along with my high school class ring, ever since.

I should back up. You know the rom-com concept of serendipity? The one that all of us daydreaming girls are enamored by while all of the realistic boys loathe… yea, same one. Well sometimes life really does that. Within the Church, we usually call it a Divine Appointment, but it’s honestly the same concept. Basically, there is a spontaneously ironic meeting of two or more people in a place and at a time that is definitely coincidental but that seems to have been a miracle.

Back in August, I had one of those. I know, I know, we’re now in December, and I gravely apologize for the delay. Well anyway… see there was this boy (shhhhhh) and I ended up at the same time and place as him and afterwards he decided to entertain my attempts at conversation. This is no mistletoe story, but don’t tune out yet if you’ve already made it this far.

See, this year has been hard on all of us in all kinds of different ways. For me, I was still trying to figure out what my new normal was going to become since I knew that I needed a few changes of scenery. One of those was a place of worship to really call home. As you may know, sometimes we simply outgrow where we are… and that’s okay.

Well, within the vast array of conversation with a new friend, I discovered my new home, and a group of people who I’ve come to be extremely comfortable with already. In relation to that same array of conversation, I decided that I wanted to look back over some Scripture that I hadn’t read in a little bit. See, my favorite verses of all time are Psalm 139:9-10. I fell in love with them when I fell in love with Japan a handful of years ago. But! I didn’t find those verses first. I stopped two pages early and found Psalm 124.

I don’t remember what the actual conversation was when I found that, but what my friend didn’t know was that while conversation probably continued electronically without a hitch, I was sitting on my couch completely overwhelmed and in tears because of the goodness of my God.

If the Lord had not been on our side – let Israel say – if the Lord had not been on our side when men attacked us, when their anger flared against us, they would have swallowed us alive; the flood would have engulfed us, the torrent would have swept over us, the raging waters would have swept us away. Praise be to the Lord, who has not let us be torn by their teeth. We have escaped like a bird out of the fowler’s snare; the snare has been broken, and we have escaped. Our help is in the name of the Lord, the Maker of heaven and earth.

Psalm 124

You see, while I was busy doing good but struggling to find my niche, my home, and my new sense of purpose, God was busy being His incredibly faithful self. There were so many times that He could have let me implode, but he didn’t… He saw my confused little spirit wanting to find Him but not knowing at all where to look, and He made sure I had a warm blanket to rest with all the while.

Fast forward then to now. Sure, if I can avoid some of the awkwardness that is the single life then I’m all game because I am not a fan. But my story, thanks to all that has led into and including the year 2020, now is riddled with more contentment than I’ve ever known. There are people and things I want in life, but where I am is dependent on my faithfulness, obedience, and patience. I want to cherish what I have, learn from the people I know, and prepare for the future for which I hope… all the while pointing to Jesus and, for all intents and purposes, being married to His love and grace.

I can’t wait to continue to do my part in my new home church and see where and how God calls me within it and without it. I can’t wait to see what I am going to learn from my new friends about life and love and living in Christ. I can’t wait to be able to tell more of God’s faithfulness and how He has seen me from here to where He wants me to be.

The truth of the matter is that I will never not be ‘married’ to my relationship with Christ. He’s loved me and provided for me no matter what’s going on, and He is my endgame. Whatever else happens in life is a bonus, and I couldn’t be happier with that. He’s worth it all… all of me and all of you.

Don’t forget… YOU matter, too. To me and to Him.

Promise.