It was one year and almost eight months ago that I had the notion to begin a blog that would provide a venue for sharing all that God was doing in my life as a single woman in full-time ministry. I named the blog, "The Wonders of Redeeming Love," after one of my most favorite hymns, "Beneath the Cross of Jesus." After all, that's where daily life is lived - beneath the cross of Jesus, in need of His Redeeming love and grace on a daily basis, and that was (and still is) the story I wanted to share. But I only managed to compose one entry. My first attempt at blogging was short-lived and that entry was likely never read by the outside world. "What happened," you might ask? Good question. After all, it's not typical that this type-A girl begins something that she doesn't finish. The event that happened four days after my first blog entry led to my "hiatus" from blogging...until now. But, at the request of many friends for a long time, I have finally given in. A new blog is born. And here is our story...
God's Providence...my handy pocket dictionary of theological terms gives this definition - "The world and humanity are not ruled by chance or by fate but by God, who directs history and creation toward an ultimate goal. Providence therefore refers to God's superintending activity over human actions and human history." The definition I teach to my college students is this (based on the shorter catechism)- "God's most holy, wise, and powerful preserving and governing of all His creatures and all their actions. God upholds and directs all things."
It all began when two church friends (couple A) decided that it was time to move - time for a downsize. That event effected two more church friends (couple B) who spent Sunday evenings with couple A after church let out to avoid a long and late drive back to Gallman, Mississippi. When couple A moved, couple B did not have their open spare bedroom to share...and so God led them to First Presbyterian Church of Hazlehurst, Mississippi (5.2 miles from home) for Sunday evening worship. But, in God's providence, that small church eventually closed due to small membership and attendance. Not to be discouraged, couple B looked for the next closest PCA church and God led them to First Presbyterian Church of Crystal Springs, Mississippi, a short 4.2 miles from home. This couple began sitting on the same pew week after week and developed a relationship with another husband and wife (couple C) who sat on the pew immediately in front of them. Over the course of time, couple B also got to know the son of couple C...an important character in the story.
Simultaneously, couple B are members of First Presbyterian Church of Jackson, MS where I worked as the Director of Women's Ministry. My responsibilities on Sunday mornings were to greet and assist members at the information desk. Faithfully at 9:10 am each Sunday morning, the wife of couple B would come in the door on her way to teach second grade Sunday school and she would always pause to say hello and talk briefly before heading on her way. I enjoyed her visit each Sunday morning but in no way would I have ever guessed that God would use her in an incredible way in my life.
Why all of these details? Doesn't it just sound like the ordinary, humdrum details from everyone's life? Moves, church closings, and cordial visits in the church hallway - not exactly blog-worthy, right? That is exactly my point. We often think that God's providence refers to grand and out-of-the-ordinary events....the parting of the Red Sea, a burning bush, giants in the land - not the everyday events in my life and yours. But when you read Scripture, you find just the opposite. God works out His plan exactly through the very ordinary events in the life of His people who are sinners. It is through faithful Hebrew midwives who simply wanted to raise children rather than kill them, that God works to thwart the plans of Pharoah and raise up Moses to deliver His people out of 450 years of slavery. It is through turbulent family relations that God raises up a faithful leader of Egypt (Joseph) during a time of famine in order to provide food for His people. It is because it was the time of barley harvest that Ruth is led to her husband Boaz. It was because of a move, a church closing, and cordial visits in the church hallway that God led me to my husband, John Belknap. Ordinary events...mothers, hunger, family trials, harvesting grain, the need for a job...attending to my daily Sunday morning responsibilities while God was at work. The grandeur of God's providence is that is incredibly ordinary and unfathomably bigger than us, all at the same time.
On October 25, 2009, God's providence intervened in my life and John's through Couple C...otherwise known as Bill and June Long, affectionately known to us as "our matchmakers". Mrs. June separately asked me and the son of couple C if we would be interested in meeting the other (much to Dr. Long's discouragment of meddling)...we both said yes (both not expecting grand things to happen) and a blind, chaperoned, double-date was planned! The son of couple C, otherwise known as John Belknap,(and now affectionately known as, my husband) came to First Presbyterian Church with the Longs on Sunday, October 25, 2009. I sat in my usual balcony perch where I could see them all from afar, and after Sunday morning worship, we met and the Longs treated us to a lovely lunch. John and I have both enjoyed chuckling at our first, chaperoned blind date with two octogenarians, but God's plans are truly the best. Since the Longs drove us to lunch, they also dropped us off at our cars which were parked in separate parking lots, so John and I never had the opportunity to talk alone. Later that afternoon, I called Mrs. June to thank her for everything and to tell them both how much I had enjoyed lunch and how much it meant that they introduced me to a godly man. Whether anything came of it or not, it was an encouraging day, as God had used them to remind me that He had not forgotten about my desire to be married. At the end of our chat, I must confess that I did say, "But Mrs. June, if he does ask for my phone number tonight at church, please give it to him!" And he did ask that night...and he called the next evening for a date on Friday...and the rest is history...er, providence. John proposed on October 4, 2010 and we were married just a few months ago, on February 12, 2011. I thank God daily for the ordinary events in the lives of Couple A, Couple B (the Longs), and Couple C (my wonderful new in-laws, Mr. and Mrs. Belknap).
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| One of many subsequent double-dates that we have enjoyed with our matchmakers. Here, a Sunday evening after church at Stark's in Hazlehurst. |
One of the reasons that so many have continued to ask that I blog is because our adventures...err...hobbies and daily living tend to be a bit old-fashioned by modern standards. We love the country and country living. Not Country Living like the magazine displays, for there, everything is neat and clean and perfectly in order. No, our country living involves lots of dirt, lots of sweat, and lots of wonderful memories. The goal of life is not perfection - the goal is looking a bit more like Christ today than we did yesterday, and it happens through the normal "stuff" of life. It will be fun to share all the stories with you and to relive them as I write. The idea behind this new blog title is that the storyteller is a girl who has a love for china, especially tea cups, a girl who loves to wear skirts, who loves being a girl...but country girls must be very flexible and quick to shift from skirts to dirt. But let me say at the outset, it is so very possible to enjoy tea cups in the country...we use them every morning for breakfast.
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| One year and eight months after my first blog post - now 3 1/2 months as husband and wife...and loving married life in the country. |
