blind love

This weekend we went to a church-wide wedding shower
for two sweet believers, Jodel and Kelly,
who will be getting married next month.

These two face many challenges;
perhaps the greatest is that both of them are blind.

(When I first heard Jodel sing the song "No More Night" with his guitar, it brought me to tears -

No more night. No more pain.
No more tears. Never crying again.
And praises to the great "I AM."
We will live in the light of the risen Lamb.

See over there, there’s a mansion prepared for me,
Where I will live with my Savior eternally.

What a promise to one whose has no earthly sight, and so little materially!)

We enjoyed fellowship together,

young and old!

And a potluck fellowship meal.

It's time to eat!

The first item on the table?
Rice of course!

Then other not-as-familiar potluck options...

It's pretty normal at church potlucks to see the kid's plates full of just
rice and pasta (and dessert!)

And that's NOT just our kids!

Afterward the children went out to play,

,,,and while the food was being cleared away, Jodel practiced his guitar.

Then we all gathered...

to play some games
and to watch the couple open gifts.

Then the men and women separated into two different rooms.

I'm not really sure what the men did, but poor Kelly was grilled -
When and where was your first date?
When was the last time Jodel told you he loves you?
How did he tell you of his feelings for you?
etc!!!
Kelly seemed pretty embarrassed.

The women then each expressed wishes or marital advice for Kelly,
and then they had MORE questions for her-
all about the wedding preparations, the wedding itself, the honeymoon.

Though I only understood part of what was going on
(due to my halting language ability)
and though I was really glad I wasn't the one being grilled,
it really was very sweet to see the love within the body of Christ expressed for these two.

Thanks for inviting us to the party, friends.

And we share your hope, Jodel and Kelly,
of glory - a place of no more night.
You will see your Savior there,
and for the first time, you will see one another, too.
Until then, may your love be grounded in His.

"Do you know that if at birth I had been able to make one petition, it would have been that I should be born blind?... Because when I get to heaven, the first face that shall ever gladden my sight will be that of my Savior!" - Fanny Crosby