Belated Plans Are Often Better

I have longed dreamed of a honeymoon in paradise. When I close my eyes, I am laying there, on a white-washed beach, the sounds of nature serenading, my groom attentively at my side, the waves lapping at my feet and not a soul around.

Unfortunately this year required eyes wide open. And our honeymoon plans were delayed by the changing of our wedding plans. For the third time. That was a bit crushing… so we looked ahead. With our antibodies on board, boarded a plane for St. Thomas in the Virgin Islands.

After the flurry of travel we arrived. For someone who has a real love for third world countries and cultures, I was a bit shocked at the layout of this first world territory. The shuttle dropped us off at the rental car place, surrounded by barbwire over a falling down brick wall. “Do we need to document dings on the car before we go?” “Nope.” (For the first time I said yes to that expensive insurance.) In our freshly cleaned, “non-smoking” car, we took off. I navigated as my husband drove on the left side of the road, up the mountain, on actual hair pin turns. (Isn’t a pin straight?) No guard rails and the roads that were labeled were numbered, while my phone map had lovely names like Magen’s Bay Road.

Let’s just say it was tense.

We survived, and the next day headed for our beach, 1.3 miles from our house. We thought we could just hike down to it as our Airbnb had boasted. The “hike” was walking down that mountain snake of a road with no bike lane. We decided to roll down it in our little beat up car.

We sat on the beach at last, our first day in our paradise! It was beautiful especially after driving through the rough locale.

The change in scenery however, didn’t do much for my heart. I had been sorting through some serious conversations in my head of late. Didn’t realize I had packed them with me until I sat there.

I was struggling with the division all around me and in me. I sat there beside my new groom but words wouldn’t come. He had just loss his last grandparent and was missing her funeral because of our plans and timing. Our last grandparent. My last passed two months before our wedding. A lot had died with them. And their generation.

We sat in the stillness.

Not far from us on our beach, we overheard voices projected through a microphone. We had passed a tent set up, saw the people milling around, all dressed up.

A wedding was happening.

I wryly wondered if her plans had gone similar to mine.

A long blue aisleway led down into the water. We waited as the ceremony went on out of sight. People began to flank the aisleway, cameras ready. There she was, in a black swimsuit cover, being wheeled down… in her beach wheelchair.

Her wide, sun-splitting smile was her only needed adornment.

No groom, she was the bride of Christ. It was her baptismal day. More than a few people were gathered on that Tuesday morning. Clapping and rejoicing filled the air as the ocean roared in response. She was sent off with encouraging shouts, as she was wheeled into the sea by two strong gentlemen. She raised her hands. But it wasn’t enough for her to just float. They wheeled her back out, walked her back in, this time with a walker. The waves washed against her and she stood there for some time soaking in the grace of God, her sins washed out with the tide. Strangers on the beach watched and cheered.

The world had its eyes on the transition of our Commander in Chief, the changing of the guard.

Yet the host of heaven watched tenderly as this beloved daughter, who had fought her way through life, found a way to obey the commands of Christ, and shout to the world, “I am His, He is mine!”

Her act of obedience may have only produced a ripple here on earth, but it drew waves in eternity. For the things that earth barely notices, God keeps a careful watch out for- the sparrow that falls, the lily that grows, the woman who couldn’t walk unassisted to her own baptism, and the young bride sorting through her emotions. God cares and He sees. And I realized that in my disappointments, God has His own plans moving forward all the time, building His everlasting kingdom. One day we will realize His are far more real than the turning tides of any earthly one.

Every step in our life is gaining momentum towards something.

As I turned to my new husband, in awe of the gift God had shared with us, I saw how much it had touched him too. And I was thankful to be here, to witness this act of obedience. This reminder, which one day in eternity will reveal its fullness. Lord knows she doesn’t even know how it moved me outside of myself.

I let it soak in and wash away my disappointments heaped like a pile of sandy earth. They were going out with the tide. Because that is what the cares of this life become– not insignificant, but lighter, in comparison to a mighty God who is accomplishing far more than we could ever ask or imagine, much less see. Can you imagine a coming glory revealed through Jesus in us, that is incomparable with our current sufferings? (Romans 8:18)

For all of us facing deep disappointment or despair, take courage in the next small step, that action that defies your emotions. That ripple is producing movement you don’t even have eyes for yet.

If I can know how to love you better by praying or encouraging, send me a message!