Therefore be imitators of God…and walk in love..

Ephesians 5:1-2

Recently, my family had the honor to help my sister and her husband celebrate their 50th wedding anniversary. What an honor to be able to help celebrate such a momentous event! They are high school sweethearts who married right out of high school. Like anyone else, they faced problems and hardships in life. One of the greatest was losing their two young sons at early ages to an inherited disease. This loving couple, followers of Christ and believers in the Gospel, experienced one of the greatest hardships probably known to any man: the death of a child-not once but twice!

Did this cause them to turn their backs on God? No, I have never known them to stop being faithful to the one who has always been faithful to them, even during such horrible circumstances as this loss. Because they have been true and faithful servants, God has poured out compassion and love upon them-thus the 50 year celebration!

I am a great believer that not only does God love us, He shows us that love and compassion in ways that man doesn’t always recognize. My sister and her husband planned a vow renewal for their celebration party, complete with the grandchildren participating and all dressed up in their original wedding colors plus their daughter and son-in-law coordinating music and photos for the ceremony. During the ceremony, my niece lit a candle to represent all of the family who had passed away and could not be there to help us celebrate this occasion. After the candle lighting a special song had been chosen to play, which was recorded on their phone. The song began to play and then suddenly was interrupted and stopped; the reason- because there was an incoming call. After the ceremony I asked my niece about the caller. She said it was blank, an unknown caller so nothing showed up on the phone. I immediately began to tear up because I was quite certain the call was from Heaven and the callers: her two brothers were joining in the celebration!

Sometimes, the moments God gives us may not be as obvious that it is a communication from above. But this loving couple, who had loved and lost such a great loss, received a great blessing on their anniversary-even if it didn’t come with a name!

Thank You Lord for the amazing love that you always show to your people, even when we don’t recognize it.

In God, now and always;
Sandra Sanders
Boundless Trust