Great is His Faithfulness

Yesterday was an exceptional day at church. One of those days when God just overwhelmed me with His presence...and I sat back a few times, soaking it in.

There was one part in particular that wrapped my soul in comfort, and I wanted to share it with you today in case you need to hear it too. At the end of the service, the worship team sang Great is Thy Faithfulness, and I stopped singing, just so I could listen. Just so I could bathe my heart in the significance of that song.

I began planning my wedding in my twenties...and I tried to find the delicate balance between being a girl unafraid to dream and being a future wife able to leave enough room for her someday husband to have an opinion.

One song I so ached to use and so hoped Mr. Missing would understand was Great is Thy Faithfulness. I'd seen it used in a wedding once...in the wedding of a friend who had waited many years to find a husband. It struck me so profoundly, because I watched her stand at the front of a very full sanctuary and the pews behind her were filled with people who had filled her life in those years of waiting. Friends, mentors, co-workers, family members...all these people were examples of tangible ways God had been faithful in the waiting.

And so I wanted that in my wedding as well. And the older I got, and the longer I waited, the more I wanted that song.

It wasn't just a piece of music, it was a testimony.

I was thrilled when Ryan captured my vision for that song, and on that day in December in Siesta Key, Florida, I hid in some beach weeds and heard the strains of the music playing down by the water's edge.

 His faithfulness...present in the lives of those who had invested in me since the day I was born. Present in those who taught me in words and example how to live for Him.

His faithfulness...present in the lives of those I didn't even know for most of my life...but who were doing something to invest in my future by investing in the one I would live with in that future.

 His faithfulness...present in the prayers of those who sustained the one God allowed me to love...who walked the darkest of roads with him and could smile with him on this day.

His faithfulness...found in the lives of those whose presence shaped my faith...both those here with me and those gone to Heaven.

His faithfulness...found in those who walked with Ryan before I even arrived. Those who prayed him through difficult days and celebrated with him on the good ones. And these two who stood beside him represent many more who weren't able to make the trip that day.

His faithfulness...found in those who spent years dreaming with and praying alongside me. And these who stood beside me represent a host of others who did the same throughout the years.

His faithfulness...shown in the answers to prayers I was almost afraid to pray...but oh how I celebrated them when God gifted me with a blessing!

His faithfulness...shown in the representation of these who gathered to witness our day...and the grains of sand under our feet represent the hundreds and thousands more who, in many ways across the years, were the embodiment of Christ's faithfulness in our lives.

That God who was faithful for 34 years of waiting for this girl...Whose faithfulness was shown on this day in these ways..is still faithful today. As we wait for answers to so many more prayers...He is still faithful. On days {like today} when I struggle to see proof as tangibly as I did on our wedding day, I choose to call to mind His faithfulness and therefore I will have hope...

...that all we need, His Hand will provide...that His pardon for sin and His peace remain...that strength for today and bright hope for tomorrow still abound...and that when the day is done, there are blessings all mine with ten thousand beside.

Great is HIS faithfulness.