Clara and I just got back from our final trip of my Christmas vacation. Our poor little Corolla went from Manhattan, Kansas to El Paso, Texas and back, Omaha, Nebraska and back, and finally to Denver and back. Hopefully it gets a couple month reprieve. Like our trip to El Paso, our trip to Denver this past weekend was prompted by marriage.
This wedding we attended this past Sunday was a miracle of God, and I mean that to be no exaggeration. The couple who tied the knot would never have ended up together apart from the grace of God and his goodness in both of their lives. I suppose this is true of every marriage, but it was particularly evident in this case.
We met Erica when she was a random dorm roommate of our good friend. She was fervent in her atheism when we met her, denying the existence of her creator. Over time she softened a bit and came around to some church activities but still kept her distance. At one point she decided that she wanted to follow Christ but the cost was simply too steep and she walked away. A couple of years later, when Clara and I had already moved to El Paso we attended our annual church conference and I was surprised to see Erica in attendance. Literally, I kept trying to convince myself from across the room that it wasn’t her. But indeed it was. She had counted the cost, decided that Christ was eminently worthy, and abandoned her old life to follow him.
Jon was one of the first people I met when I moved to Fort Collins to attend Colorado State as a freshman. I remember listening to punk music loudly in my Pathfinder and buying cigars with him on my roommate’s 18th birthday. Jon and I have a lot in common in many ways, but were never very close. Clara and he were good friends though and when Clara and I got together I got to know Jon better. He had come to follow Christ as a freshman at Colorado State but was struggling for many years to commit the rest of his life to following Christ. He had other ambitions which pulled at his heart. In our final years in Fort Collins it was rare to see Jon around church or church events and our communication with him waned. It was, therefore, much to our surprise when he came down to El Paso a couple of years ago on a short-term mission trip. In his time of straying he had never found satisfaction outside of Christ and had returned to following him.
Shortly thereafter Jon fell in love with Erica and told her so. She denied at him first, saying she did not reciprocate his feelings. Undaunted, Jon continued to love Erica and decided to give her time. Like Christ was persistent with both of them, Jon was persistent in his love for and seeking of Erica and she eventually came around. A couple of days ago I watched them pledge the rest of their lives to one another in marriage.
That story might not strike some as miraculous, but then they would be wrong.
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