Apart

My niece got married Saturday evening. It was a beautiful wedding and the bride was a vision to behold. And the groom...if he was any happier we would have had to tie him down so he didn't float away. Yet, for me the wedding was bittersweet. My darling niece is thirty years old and has lived in the same general area as I for all her life. She was my baby for 4 years before I had my first baby. I love her so much and feel like she is one of my own. But the young man she married lives in Florida, about 7 hours away.



When I went to give her a farewell hug, I was overcome with emotion. All I could do was quietly weep and hold her tight. I felt such a separation, such a loss. In the dark as we drove home I began to think about the love I have for this young woman in comparision to the love God has for me. How many times have I put distance between me and the one who loves me so very much? How must my Lord's heart break and how many tears has he shed? How many times have I traveled a journey away from my Lord and He had to suffer and endure the feeling of separation and loss from me, one of his children, when it wasn't necessary? If my Father loves me infinitly more than we can love, then when I choose not to be in tune with him how he must suffer. I am now sure my God weeps for me and wants to hold on tightly to me.



It is okay for my niece to start a new life in another town with the man God has called her to unite with...but it is not alright for me to move away from the presence and company of my Saviour. Every day, every hour, every minute I need to be one with the Lord...I need to have no distance, no separation between me and my father. I need him to hold me tight not for a goodbye but for now, today, tomorrow and forever! "But you, beloved, building yourself up on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Spirit, keep yourselves in the love of God, waiting anxiously for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ to eternal life." Jude 1:21.



Thank you ,my darling, for bringing joy and love into my life. I am so proud of you and will pray for you (as I always have) and for that great new husband of yours.