COVID-19 WEDDING STORY

​(The Story) First, The Lord has taught me some things with this wedding. The time leading up to the wedding was so hard. I think every emotion went through my body leading up to it. But through all the cracks was so much of God’s love and mercy that was shown. I re-planned my wedding day about 7 times leading up to the day within 7 days. It’s a sensitive subject to me and I’m not sure I still understand all the feelings I have that go with all of it. I have heard it all. I did my best to trust the Lord through the process, lean on Him for my own understanding, and I tried to stay positive. It was tough. I would be lying if I didn’t say that my heart felt broken. I had planned this day for months. Every detail, every moment. I remember one night when hearing all day at work about COVID-19 I came down and broke down. I had stayed strong at work because it was my job to be the support system for employees but when it came to my own life / day it all came crashing down. I went up to my office and cried, I got out my Bible and I read a devotion that said trust in me and my plan for you. Keep me close says the Lord. After that moment I felt peace over me and the situation. The next day more details began to change but I trusted the Lord and his plan. A few days later we had to make the executive decision to postpone our wedding day. I was angry, sad, my heart was broken inside. I knew it was no one’s fault, it was just a crazy circumstance.
 
Here's what I knew: I knew I wanted my big extravagant day, so we postponed to August and boy did the Lord work. There was one Saturday available at the venue. August 1st. It just so happened to be my great-grandparents wedding anniversary. While I was angry and sad this brought me so much peace. I saw the plan God had for us. This date is so meaningful because I was named after my great-grandmother Sarah Elizabeth. Her husband (my great-grandfather) Dean, was a light to my life growing up. We moved to the family farm when I was 5 and the farm has been in our family since 1851. Dean used to say the farm was “The Best Place on Earth” and needless to say he is right. He was the strongest Christian I’ve ever known. He read his Bible every day, he prayed for hours each night and he prayed for every member of the family by name. So having his wedding date be our new date I was at peace.
 
Nate and I also knew that we wanted to still be married April 4th like we had planned. So we planned to have a tiny backyard wedding that day. Throughout the week more and more plans changed. Nates family, and our pastor could no longer come because the state had shut down its borders. I felt heartbroken yet again. But we would not let the devil ruin our plans.
 
Here is how God’s mercy peaked through: A week ago Nate and I started our journey studying the word through @ReviveIndiana in our marriage counseling we learned the importance of reading the Bible as a couple and we wanted to fully commit to this. So we did just that and we read, and watch Kyle Lance Martin daily. After we started Revive and more and more wedding plans changed I saw how God works. I wasn’t as stressed as before or as angry. I felt an overwhelming peace fill my life. If plans changed I knew and believed “God’s Got This!” As the week went on I decided that I wanted to have the small zoom ceremony at my parents house, the family farm, and “the best place on Earth” so we did just that. I wanted it here because even though the Lord is with Nate and I wherever we go, I knew that The Lord would be with us extra at the farm. My parents set it all up, we social distanced, had our immediate family on a big screen and lot’s of cameras. Pastor Tom graciously stepped in as the officiant.
 
It was small, it wasn’t what I dreamed of, I didn’t get to walk down the aisle, or wear my dress, or have our first dance. But that will all come soon in August.
 
We are just happy to be married and start a life together through Christ. This will make a crazy story to tell generations to come. It became a story of God’s love and mercy. And we get two wedding dates to celebrate now.
 
Let me be clear. I am thrilled to be married to the man of my dreams. But I am still grieving a little too. Sometimes things are not perfect, and God has a different story to be written. Trust that His is always better than the one you want to write. This is what I learned. This is God’s story that we get to be a part of.