Two Rings

Over the weekend I had an opportunity to join two wonderful people in the bonds of Holy Wedlock.

Jude and Carrie are homeless right now. They have been sleeping outside and have nothing to call their own, yet they both wanted to get married.

So, the Body of Christ surrounded them and poured out a marvelous blessing of love upon them. What’s more, God Himself smiled upon them both and personally provided the rings that they placed on one another’s fingers.

Carrie’s Ring

One week before the wedding, at the Motel Church, a volunteer overheard Carrie mention that she did not have a ring for her wedding. This  man, who wasn’t supposed to be serving that day, offered up a ring that he had found laying in the parking lot of a rest area a few months previously. The ring was gorgeous, and appraised for thousands of dollars. When no one claimed it he had first thought to melt it down and offer the money to the Church. But when he heard Carrie’s story he knew that God had given that ring to him so he could give it to Carrie.

Jude’s Ring

On the morning of the wedding I had met with Jude and Carrie at the motel where the motel church meets each week. Some very generous people had offered to pay a few weeks worth of rent at the motel to give them a place to stay as they started out their life together. So, after we had taken care of getting their room set up , Jude and I stepped out of the office and saw Carrie speaking with my friend Mike. Some of you may remember that about a year or so ago we had helped Mike and Marie and their baby Mikala at this same motel. Carrie started to introduce Mike to me, as if I didn’t know him, but before she could I threw my arms around Mike and gave him a big hug. As usual, he smiled quietly and mumbled a soft “hello.”

As Jude and Carrie and I talked about the last minute details of their wedding which would begin that afternoon, I made mention of the fact that we didn’t yet have a ring for her to give to Jude. When Jude and Carrie left to go get ready for the wedding, Mike held out his hand to me and dropped a silver men’s wedding ring into my hand. “Let it be a surprise,” he said.

So, that afternoon when Jude slipped that expensive diamond ring on to Carrie’s finger, and as she slipped that silver ring on to his finger, and as they both repeated their vows to God and to one another, it was marvelous to see how perfectly those rings fit them.

God is so full of love like this for each of us. He knows our needs. He sees us where we are. He takes note of those things that would bless our hearts. He even knows our needs before we ask.

 

He knows the number of hairs on your head, and he also knows your ring size.

Isn’t God awesome?

-kg