No Need to RSVP... {Everlasting Love}

I have not been to a wedding since like 7th grade, I haven’t been in one since I was 6. That’s roughly 10 years. 

Now, wedding season has commenced, and I have many sweet friends that are getting married really soon. Do I expect to be invited? Yes. Am I? No.

Instead of becoming indifferent about this situation, I’m looking at it from a protection standpoint.

God does not want me to attend weddings during this season of my life.

I have been going through a season of heartbreak. A long season, its been 3 months. A mere blip in the scope of eternity, but a long one to be heartbroken for. Will it continue? Most likely, unless the Lord decides to take me out of it.

I haven’t been on the couch gorging myself with ice cream and watching sappy love stories. On the contrary, I haven’t been this busy with life in a long time. My days start early and end late. I’m certainly not complaining.

Would attending these weddings be helpful for me? Probably not. The last thing I need to be doing is attending a wedding, wanting to rejoice with the Bride and Groom, but also wanting to experience it for myself. Is that a good place for me to be? No. 

Two truths I’ve been holding on to, and two truths that might encourage you during times of heartbreak. The first is Jeremiah 31:1-3 and the second is Ecclesiastes 3:1-8.

The Lord Will Turn Mourning to Joy
“At that time, declares the LORD, I will be the God of all the clans of Israel, and they shall be my people.”
Thus says the LORD:“The people who survived the swordfound grace in the wilderness;when Israel sought for rest,the LORD appeared to him from far away.I have loved you with an everlasting love;therefore I have continued my faithfulness to you.
(Jeremiah 31:1-3 ESV)

A Time for Everything
For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven:
a time to be born, and a time to die;a time to plant, and a time to pluck up what is planted;a time to kill, and a time to heal;a time to break down, and a time to build up;a time to weep, and a time to laugh;a time to mourn, and a time to dance;a time to cast away stones, and a time to gather stones together;a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing;a time to seek, and a time to lose;a time to keep, and a time to cast away;a time to tear, and a time to sew;a time to keep silence, and a time to speak;a time to love, and a time to hate;a time for war, and a time for peace.
(Ecclesiastes 3:1-8 ESV)

You might notice that both of these passages are in the old testament. And you would be correct. One is directly dealing with the Children of Israel, while they were in captivity. The other (Ecclesiastes) is from King Solomon, near the end of his life.

Imagine with me for a moment. You are captive, you and your family has been captive for 2 generations now. All you know is life within Babylon. Constantly being persecuted, and not knowing what your home even looks like. Your grandparents have told of the wonders of God, how God set aside his people for his own possession. But you’re in Babylon, the Assyrian Empire. You are heartbroken to go back to the place that God has given you.

Then the words are spoken.... “I have loved you with an everlasting love...”

You thought that God abandoned you, in the place of captivity. But he never left. He loved you through your darkest. HE continued his faithfulness to you.

 What a God! If that doesn’t calm your soul, I do not know what would! God loves me? With an everlasting love? That is unfathomable! But will life as I know it be in this darkness forever? Will I only know life within Babylon? Will I only know life broken hearted?

Solomon, the wisest man to ever live, could tell you first hand that life is not constant, it changes and flows. See Ecclesiastes 3:1-8.

The God of the Universe, the one who made your heart, times everything out just right. His timing = perfection.

During the midst of the heartbreaks that come, it is a SEASON. Not a lifestyle for the rest of your life. Life should not be gloom and doom as long as you walk this earth.

Like all seasons, they change. You’ll be reminded of heartbreak, but understand that it will pass. God’s mercies are new every morning, and sometimes his mercies mean you have a busy schedule or you aren’t invited to weddings.

One last thought. Since I have been working through my own heartbreak, I’m realizing something extraordinary.

God is saving himself for me.

You know, when a sweet spirit comes and tries to console you as you are going through heartbreak. Usually the saying goes “God is just saving his perfect man for you, don’t you worry, you'll get through it.” Well, that is true. God does something much greater than that, God is saving himself (the best of the best) for me.

Just look at Jeremiah 31:3 again. (:

Working through this season,

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