A Planned Wedding

God has plans and purposes for each of our lives. But the beauty is that He doesn’t call us and leave us on our own. Jesus actually lives in us to pull off the amazing things that He has invited us into.— Louie Giglio (b. 1958)

Nothing happens to God’s children by accident. As I stand here, minutes before my wedding, looking down the aisle at the beautiful flowers and decorations all over the room, and thinking of the many miracles that made this moment possible, I truly understand how “All things work together for good.” But wait—I’m getting

1 ahead of myself. To tell this story properly, I have to go back in time:

A little over a year before, my fiancée Melody and I were at the birthday party of one of our friends. Around midnight, we went to say goodbye to our hostess. However, she insisted that since it was so late, she would have her son drive us across town back to our house. We were glad for the ride, and as there was barely any traffic, we expected to be home soon.

But when we came to the turn that led to our house, our driver continued driving straight ahead. At first we thought that maybe he had missed the turn by accident. But when we told him, he just ignored us, finally saying, “I just want to stop and see a friend first.”

This was slightly worrying. Who decides to stop to see a friend at one o’clock in the morning when he’s supposed to be taking you home?

We did stop at his friend’s house and even got introduced to her. She was a Christian and ended up subscribing to Activated. We stayed in touch infrequently until about a year later, when she moved to Manila.

When Melody and I set a date for our wedding, we began sending out invitations. Since this woman had moved to Manila, I sent her a text message to tell her the good news. “That’s wonderful!” she said. “Here’s what I want you to do. Go to the house where you first met me and talk to my mother. She’s a wedding planner and decorator, and she will help you for free as my wedding gift.”

And that brings me to where I am now—standing here looking down the aisle. As I admire the decorations and beauty of the whole setup, I think, God did have a plan.

1. Romans 8:28