When God Says No

Last October, I got one of the best phone calls of my life. My sister-friend Amy called to tell me that she was getting married to the love of her life in February! I had known before they got engaged that the wedding would be in Colorado, so from the moment she called, I knew it was time to start conquering my fear of flying. Over the last couple of months, I've worked really hard to try to overcome this fear of planes. Finally, last month I worked up to my first practice flight. Even though it wasn't perfect, I did survive the trip, and it at least quieted my fears a little. I'm sure some of you even remember my posts about it. But how many of you remember this sentence from the post I wrote after returning from Chicago?

"I won't go so far as to say that I'm looking forward to flying again, but I will say with complete confidence, Amy, unless God has other plans for me, I'll be at your wedding!!"

And for reasons I don't yet understand, God said no.

Almost three weeks ago, Hopey got sick with what seemed to be a cold. I waited a little less than a week, and then I took her to the doctor and was told that it was just a virus and would be gone in a few days. One week later, Hopey had gotten significantly worse. Besides cold symptoms, she started vomiting, running a fever of 103, she was wheezing, and she stopped eating and sleeping. Obviously, I became concerned again. I took her back to the doctor and was once again told that it was a virus and would be gone in a few days. Two days later, her symptoms had continued to worsen, but now she was breathing rapidly, struggling to breathe at all, coughing violently, and still running a fever of 103. I took her back to the doctor again, and this time she was taken much more seriously. This time they checked her oxygen levels, x-rayed her lungs, tested for RSV, and gave her a breathing treatment. We found out that her oxygen levels were low, her bronchial tubes were inflamed, and their main concern was Pneumonia. Very fortunately, she does NOT have Pneumonia but has some kind of upper respiratory infection, and she's on breathing treatments. The doctor told us to "stay close to home" as it could develop into something else. And so ended my plans of being at Amy's wedding.

Of course I was willing to do whatever it took to help Hopey heal, but at the same time, I was devestated to know that I would not be a part of Amy's wedding. I cried myself silly for a couple of days, but I finally took a look at the big picture. Despite all of my planning, practicing, and determination, God said no. When Hopey first got sick, we came up with a million different ideas of how we could still go to the wedding. In the end, God closed all of those doors and made His will perfectly clear to me. For whatever the reason, it was not part of God's plan for me to be at Amy's wedding. It may very simply be that God wanted to remind me that "The mind of man plans his way, but the Lord directs his steps." Proverbs 16:9

Amy and Aaron, I know your wedding is going to be absolutely amazing, and I can never apologize enough for not being there. Please remember that no matter what happens on Saturday, your wedding is just a wedding, it's the marriage that counts. God gave you to each other, and I couldn't be happier for both of you! I love you to pieces, and we'll come visit you this spring...... Lord willing! :)