So Blessed With the Best People:

Recently, I had one of my best days ever, and this was my bridal shower.  To give a short bit of context, I have always loved going to Bridal Showers.  I have loved the chance to celebrate the bride with gifts, fun snacks, and playing games, all while wearing fun clothes and taking lots of pictures.  So the fact that I was having my bridal shower filled with the people I love the most and care about, was a day I had been looking forward to. 

I’ll give a little summary.  I had it at the Bridge of Storm Lake where I used to work for seven years.  It was awesome to be able to celebrate a big experience in a place where I grew so much and a place where I have so much love in my heart.  As I am approaching another milestone this special place got to be the host for one of the events leading up to the main event.  

To give a bit of a summary of what the day all consisted of, it had great snack food of chex mix, an amazing charcuterie board, and also beautiful cookies.  The snacks were definitely one of my favorite parts.  Then I also had games where people could decide if the sentence fit me or Cole better.  Overall, most people got us pretty much solved.  Some of them don’t know Cole super well, but they were able to guess by my personality.  Then I also received some beautiful gifts and some cards with wonderful words on them of good tidings.  I am truly very blessed with the words and the generosity from my loved ones.  

This event made me realize I need to be very grateful for the things I have.  I have so many people who are 1. Willing to help set up this awesome shower for me 2. To drive the long way to get to my shower, and 3. Give me kind gifts and words.  How truly blessed am I to receive such great gifts and cards from loved ones.  I can always look back to the gifts and re-read through the cards I received on this day, and remember the love and the joy given to me on this special day.  

This shower overall was a big reminder for me to love the everyday moments and the journey.  I have tried really hard to enjoy all the moments of the engagement season.  I loved getting to pick out my wedding dress with the loved ones who have joined me. (That was the biggest highlight).  I also loved picking out the food for the reception, getting to walk through the reception area, doing the dress fittings, and finally having a bridal shower.  I also will have a bachelorette/birthday party coming up very soon.  

It is important to remember to slow down.  Often we as people are in a hurry to get to the thing we are most looking forward to.  Sometimes we can start counting the days to what we are most looking forward to and we start to miss the little moments on their way to the bigger event.  For example, we can solely look towards the wedding as opposed to all the steps of getting prepared for one.

There are many verses about joy and love throughout the Bible, even about finding those in the simple moments.  One example is Proverbs 3:3-6 which says, “Let love and faithfulness never leave you; bind them around your neck, write them on the tablet of your heart. Then you will win favor and a good name in the sight of God and man. Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight.”  I love this verse because it is a reminder to never let love and faithfulness leave you.  Have them constantly in your heart.  This is during both the good times and the trying times. 

The challenge for this week is to spend some time thinking about two things.  The first one is to spend some time thinking about the people who are in your life who you really love.  Who are the people you have been blessed with?  Maybe take some time to even say thank you to these individuals.  Then the second thing is to spend some time in appreciation and in happiness for the little life moments.  This is important to remember the little times or moments in life.  We can’t just be happy or excited for the big moments or for the moments or days most looked forward to, whether this be graduation, wedding day, start of the new job, etc.  The little moments can even be today as you are reading.