#GodsMiracles;

I get to keep you

By Sara | January 7, 2024

“I am with you and will watch over you wherever you go.” (Genesis 28:15)

I have a secret to share. David sometimes talks in his sleep. Not often, but sometimes he does – and I always hear him. Often, David will utter a sentence or two from his dream. I work hard to remember what he said so I can tell him about it when he wakes up. Thankfully, David can always tell me what the dream was about when I do. On one such occasion, he said something that neither of us will ever forget, as it has impacted our lives ever since.

*David uses a rubber mallet to level paving stones used in a fire-pit patio* *he created for a VA Beach customer*. *(June, 2023)*

Most of David’s dreams are work-related. I told him such things are a sign of stress that he shouldn’t be having – especially now that he is mostly retired. That being said, the mind is a powerful organ that never entirely shuts down. I, too, have vivid dreams that play in my subconscious, like movie scripts. I sometimes mix people and places from my past together as my brain weaves memories and new creations into one tiny snippet of thought as I sleep.

According to Sigmund Freud, “The interpretation of dreams is the royal road to a knowledge of the unconscious activities of the mind.” The famed psychologist wrote extensively about the same in his timeless work, The Interpretation of Dreams, which is still studied by experts and non-specialists today. Freud professed that interpreting dreams can provide great insight into what he termed a “dynamic unconscious.” He believed that understanding what occurs in our dreams allows us to address better how we live our lives in the daylight. Per Freud, “On my way to discovering the solution of the dream all kinds of things were revealed which I was unwilling to admit even to myself.”

One of the most well-known Biblical dream interpreters was Joseph. In his lifetime, Joseph had six dreams that we read about in Genesis, chapters 37-42. The first two dreams were Joseph’s, and in them, God revealed the future path for Joseph’s life. While his father and brothers were unhappy to hear Joseph’s dreams portending their eventual submission to his power and greatness, scripture reveals the truth of these subconscious musings. Over the course of a 28-year interval, Joseph systematically was sold into slavery by his jealous brothers, purchased and elevated in the household of a powerful Egyptian official, betrayed and jailed for an offense he was innocent of, promoted again within the penal system, and eventually released from captivity upon Pharaoh’s acknowledgment of Joseph’s God-given ability to interpret dreams. During Joseph’s period of incarceration, he interpreted two more pairs of dreams that ultimately changed the course of his life.

Scripture reminds us that dreams also played a crucial role in Daniel’s life. In addition to his well-known interpretation of King Nebuchadnezzar’s dream (Daniel 2) – revealing the monarch’s eventual fall from power and ultimate acknowledgment of God – scripture advises us that Daniel’s dreams prophesied a future world yet to come (Daniel 7). We can take comfort in Daniel’s dreams, knowing they foretell a time when God will rule and reign over the earth, with all believers reigning with Him.

All told, God’s Word reveals twenty dreams that were used for various purposes. Such revelations include warnings (Genesis 20:3, 31:24, Matthew 27:19), prophetic events (Gen. 37:5, 9, 40:8-19, 41:1-7, 15-32, Daniel 2, 7), spiritual truth (Gen. 28:12), confirmed promises (Gen. 28:13-14), and encouragement (Gen. 28:15) – my personal favorite.

While David’s dream held no such grandiose revelations to me, his words were precious upon explanation in the morning light.

“You talked in your sleep last night,” I told David after revealing his subconscious musings.

“What did I say?” David asked.

“You said, ‘I get to keep you.’” I replied.

As David smiled, he explained that while he couldn’t remember the entirety of his dream, he clearly remembered that phrase, saying, “It was about you. I remember smiling as I said it, knowing that above everything else, I was happy that God gave you to me – and ‘I get to keep you.’”

Since that revelation, I’ve borrowed the phrase quite frequently, telling David that I, too, am incredibly grateful to God for His gift of David to me. “And I get to keep you.”

“You keep stealing my line,” David laughs when I tell him the same. “But I don’t mind.”

“That’s good,” I always say, “because I intend to keep using it.”

*David and I are constant smiles when we’re together – even while standing outside the Vatican walls for hours to enter the Vatican Museums in Rome, Italy. (October, 2023)*

I waited a lifetime for David to become a part of my life as he did for me. We thank God daily for our compatibility, which includes our shared love of our Heavenly Father and each other. We know how prodigious a gift it is to find one’s soulmate, helper, confidant, and best friend – all wrapped up in one extraordinary package we call a Godly spouse. “That is why a man leaves his father and mother and is united to his wife, and they become one flesh.” (Genesis 2:24)

Above and beyond finding each other on a church bus in a disaster zone while working for God in an evangelical ministry of love and faith, God gave me a man who speaks my love language of touch and affirmation.

Moreover, I get to keep him. Hallelujah! What a Savior!

The greatest gift

By Sara | December 30, 2023

For Christmas this year, David and I were privileged to enjoy a free stay at an oceanfront condo in the FL Keys. No. We didn’t win the Publisher’s Clearinghouse Sweepstakes. Our “vacation” was courtesy of one of David’s lifelong friends, Joe D’Angelo, whose winter home is the one we were fortunate to occupy while he was away for the holidays. Talk about Christmas in Paradise. We found it!

*The view from Joe’s Tavernier, FL condo.*

David first met Joe when he was around five or 6-years-old after his family moved from Lakewood, NY, to Orchard Park, NY. As a young adult, Joe reached out to David regarding David’s self-employment experience since Joe was considering leaving the restaurant industry. Joe took David’s advice and was fortunate enough to acquire an existing glass installation business, which he ultimately grew into a lucrative venture. Joe and his wife Mary retired to Tavernier, FL – a beautiful community just north of Islamorada, in the Upper Keys. While the two of them were visiting their children and grandchildren for the holidays, David and I basked in the beauty of their oceanfront view from the sixth floor of Joe’s condo.

*Islamorada’s Amara Kay Resort used to be the Hampton Inn.*

While there, David delighted in taking me to places he remembered from his former stays in Islamorada. Between 2001 and 2009, David was fortunate to work in what was then the former Hampton Inn – partially owned and operated by his decades-long friend, Dennis. David’s primary, annual, off-season task was to repaint all the hotel’s guest rooms, common areas, and exterior. While working on the property, David and his helper, Dexter, were provided free lodging at the hotel.

Although it was dark after our 8-hour drive to the Keys, David was eager to revisit Dennis’ former hotel – now fully renovated and rebranded as the Amara Kay Resort. After a short drive to the site, we walked the property so David could photo-document the site’s changes for Dennis – all the while elaborating upon his fond memories to me.

*Christmas decorations enhanced the festive atmosphere at Dennis’ former hotel.*

“It’s beautiful,” was my constant refrain as David walked me through the lobby to the oceanfront view on the back grounds. Even in the dark, I was amazed at the tropical outdoor seating, majestic palms, fire pits, and tiki torches adorning the property. The place was positively magical.

After walking along the grounds, David and I strolled to the hotel’s pier, next to the same tiki bar that David remembered from his past. Despite the dramatic changes to the property, other features remained the same. I could hardly imagine the privilege of a two-and-a-half-month-long stay in such a resort. What a privilege!

As the two of us sat down on a waterfront lounge chair to contemplate the same, we looked up at the night sky and thanked God for the blessing of being there together.

“I used to sit here at night and look out at the water,” David confessed. “I was glad I had Zoley (David’s dog), but I’d always ask God, ‘Where is she?'” Emotional at the memory, David continued, “And now you’re here! I can hardly believe you’re finally here!”

*David and I returned to the Amara Kay in the daytime to better appreciate the beautiful resort hotel.*

More wondrous than a complimentary stay in the Keys, more satisfying than the warmth of the FL sunshine, more beautiful than the pristine waters we transcended in borrowed kayaks, and more awe-inspiring than the cries of the ospreys that glided over the ocean waters is our God. One year ago, I was in CO visiting my family for Christmas, fretting over how I’d share the news of my engagement to my soulmate. At the time, I could never have imagined where I’d be 365 days later, let alone how joyful my life would be now that I’m married to David.

And yet, here I am, continually marveling at the incredulity of it all. I’ll never again ask for another gift in my lifetime. I already have it all. Apart from my salvation, the most incomparable gift I’ve ever received was the love of a man named David. After all, unequivocal love is beyond description. It’s all I ever wanted, never thought I’d obtain, and so much more than I could ever have imagined it would be.

*Our Tavernier stay included complimentary use of Joe’s kayaks.*

From a baby in a manger to a resurrected King, God demonstrated His love to us by humbling Himself to take on human flesh for the sole purpose of saving our souls so we could spend eternity with Him in heaven. The greatest gift is love, and it’s always there for all of us to unwrap, accept, and savor. Nothing on earth is as profound as our Heavenly Father’s love. I’m even more blessed to have found that same love with skin on it, wrapped up in the unconditional affection of my David. I can never thank God enough for the same.

*A short kayak trip took us to tiny yet gorgeous Kalteux Key.*

The greatest gift is love. Grab it. Savor it. Share it. After all, there is nothing more remarkable in the universe than love.

We met on a church bus – Italian honeymoon, Part 1

By Sara | October 15, 2023

Give praise to the LORD, proclaim His name; make known among the nations what He has done. (1 Chronicles 16:8)

On Wednesday, September 27th, David and I departed the U.S. on the first day of our official, long-overdue honeymoon. It hardly felt real to me, even as I listened to a pre-recorded safety message onboard our first flight – in Italian! Wow! The last time I traveled to Italy was with my mom in 2015 – eight years ago – which feels like a lifetime. Even then, I could never have imagined returning to Italy with my soulmate, my best friend, my incredible husband, David, who loves me.

*David and I onboard our transatlantic flight* *to Italy. Separated by an aisle but together in love.*

David loves me! What a gift love is! There’s nothing else like it in all the world. God has blessed me beyond belief, and I am so grateful! Glory to God!

For the past few weeks, I’ve been working 10–12-hour days to be able to leave work in a good place without feeling guilty for taking time off. In addition to planning a 62-person, 3-day meeting in Katowice (pronounced like “pizza”), Poland, I support eight executives now. Four are traveling in October and also traveled in September. I’ve been coordinating their travel as much, if not more, than mine.

Honestly, my work has been completely overwhelming, so having this time away is a Godsend in many ways. I need a good rest – and while I know this trip will be challenging on many levels, I’m not alone as I always have been. This time is different. This time, I have David. This time, I have a partner. This time – for the first time ever – I know I am perfectly loved.

I am perfectly loved. Nothing on earth is as powerful, empowering, energizing, fulfilling, and beautiful as love. Nothing the world can offer can ever satisfy every longing of one’s soul like love.

As I said in my vows, all I ever wanted was to be perfectly loved. Even as a young person, I knew acceptance was impossible without love. No matter where I sought it, the only true love I ever felt was from God. No one could ever love me like God did. I knew that – and yet, I still hoped and prayed I’d find a love like my Creator’s. I didn’t – until David.

In David, I am whole. My satisfaction is beyond complete – it’s overflowing. I know how to find joy in God’s beauty and majesty. Still, I never knew what sharing God’s love with anyone else was like. How could I? I didn’t have David yet!

With David, I can now reflect on God’s glory with someone who understands it like I do. With David, I can celebrate the beauty of a bejeweled sunset or the incredulity of a visiting hummingbird as it flits from flower to flower. With David, I see reverence for our Savior reflected back to me. With David, through the power of God’s mercy, I am complete.

And so, despite my long, stressful work nights, and although the day began in a challenging manner as we rushed to the airport, I now feel peace, gratitude, and satisfaction such as I’ve never known.

While I felt relief in finally talking to the owner of the first apartment we rented in our 16-day, 16-city tour of Italy to get check-in instructions during our layover, my relief came from more than this assurance. Knowing that I now have David and God is all the stress relief I will ever need.

No matter what tomorrow brings, I am with my God-given soulmate – and that’s all I’ll ever need. I have peace such as I’ve never known and am so grateful.

What a joy to be loved! What a blessing to marry a man who loves me with a passion equal to mine. What bliss to be on my honeymoon with my David.

We met on a church bus. We got married and are honeymooning in Italy. Glory to God! I am blessed beyond measure, indeed.

Teach me to number my days

By Sara | August 14, 2023

Teach us to number our days, that we may gain a heart of wisdom. (Psalm 90:12)

Three weeks ago, David and I flew to VA Beach to meet with his urologist to receive the results of his prostate biopsy. We only stayed for two nights as my mom was visiting GA – so we couldn’t be gone long. During our return flight, I wrote a blog on my phone – one painstaking letter at a time. I wanted to capture my thoughts while they were fresh in my head and had the time to do so.

*Clear skies surrounded our plane as David and I flew back from VA Beach.*

Since we’ve been married, our days are so full that little time remains for me to write – and I miss doing so daily. Between a full work week, evenings and weekends are always spent catching up on yard duties before we return to one or the other of our houses to do the same there. Twice monthly travels between VA Beach and GA make me feel like a bit of a vagabond, but the trips are necessary. Until David’s VA Beach house is ready to sell or rent, we generally spend two to two and a half weeks at either location.

This evening, I was determined to write. At a minimum, I wanted to post the blog I’d written on the plane but never had a chance to edit and upload until finally claiming the time to do so.

And so, it was with great disappointment that I learned the words and emotions I’d captured three weeks ago were gone – vanished, deleted, irretrievably lost.

For a writer, losing words ostensibly secured in the heat of heady sentiment is tantamount to experiencing a knife wound to the gut.

And yet, I know I am exceedingly blessed. Lost words mean nothing compared to what David and I gained during our last trip.

Despite David’s grim potential cancer prognosis, what we’ve been praying for all along has been confirmed – David is cancer-free! How he went from a high probability of stage 3 or 4 prostate cancer to not one cancer cell in his body can only be laid at the feet of Christ. David is healthy, happy, and whole. Upon hearing the results in his urologist’s office, all the two of us could say was, “Yay, God!”

As we hugged and wiped the tears from our eyes before leaving the exam room, one of the staff members poked her head in to make sure we were alright. “Yes, ma’am,” I said. “We’re just happy!”

“Tears of joy,” David confirmed.

Indeed, our Heavenly Father delivered what we’d prayed and trusted God for. The Divine Physician had healed David’s body from the inside out. There’s no doubt in my mind as to the veracity of that claim.

Even David’s urologist seemed stunned. To be confident of the results, the doctor who’d performed the procedure made 24 cuts in 4 regions of David’s prostate – far more than are usually taken.

“I knew it,” I exclaimed as David’s urologist revealed his surgical findings. God has always been in complete control – and David has much more Kingdom work to do than the original prognosis seemed to allow.

*Cloudy skies prevented me from seeing below our plane’s wing.*

While flying above the clouds on our return journey to GA, I remember looking out and being struck by the cloud structures beneath us. What began as a clear sky quickly became overcast, and I could see nothing beneath us.

And yet blue sky prevailed. Above the clouds, God sees everything.

Our Creator has already foreseen what we can often only discern one foot at a time. Clear, turbulent, or stormy skies aside, God is always with us, and nothing ever takes Him by surprise. As the Apostle Matthew reminds us, “Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? Yet not one of them will fall to the ground outside your Father’s care.” (10:29)

*Partly cloudy skies offered only a partial view of the ground beneath our plane.*

I’ve always said that every day is a gift – even more so now that I have David to spend the rest of my days with. While every gift may not always be what I want or hope for, I’ve learned to appreciate each offering as a gesture of love presented by someone who cares. If I believe that sentiment to be true – and I do – how much more should I appreciate what my Heavenly Father gives me?

While I may have lost the words I first captured weeks ago, I know how I feel now. I am blessed beyond measure and thank God daily for his unspeakable gifts.

No matter how many days I have left to spend with my beloved husband, I value all of them. I spent too much of my life without David to ever underestimate the great worth of having him beside me now.

*David and I celebrate every moment we have together with a shared smile as we visit Jekyll Island, GA.*

May we never forget how precious our loved ones are. Each of us has only been given a defined number of days here on Earth. May we spend each of them praising God and serving our Creator.

Who the Son sets free

By Sara | July 17, 2023

So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed. (John 8:36)

David and I celebrated our first Fourth of July together a few weeks ago while working on his VA Beach house renovations. His home is a long-postponed fixer-upper – built in the 1960s – that we’re enjoying renovating together. Well, David is renovating. I’m helping and encouraging him every step of the way.

*David’s original living room with concrete floors and taupe walls.*

Watching the transformation is astounding. I’ve always enjoyed restoration jobs myself. I’ve stripped and restored furniture, planned and orchestrated vast landscaping projects, and removed a horrific chalk wall in my former kitchen. I used to think my undertakings were pretty good. They’re nothing like David’s. To see the concrete floors of David’s home be replaced with beautiful Pergo wood plank flooring is phenomenal. What a difference the flooring has made in his house! And the renovations are just beginning.

*A swath of lighter paint shows the future color of David’s walls above his original concrete flooring.*

More than that, I remember the day David came to me in GA, jumping up and down in our garage like a little kid. He was so full of energy, joy, and excitement that his actions surprised me. We’d only been married for a few weeks when David decided to flush all his anti-depressants down the toilet. A counselor had prescribed them to him years ago, and he’d faithfully kept taking them, thinking there was no way he could stop doing so.

“I feel so good! I feel so good! I feel so good!” David kept saying. I remember thinking, is this for real? Could this reaction last? All I knew at the time was that his transformation amazed me.

I’m happy to report that the changes did last – and the results are beautiful.

That got me thinking; how many people are walking around today with lives wholly controlled by medication, illegal drugs, or believing that some form of surgery will somehow “make them better”?

While 2023 statistics are still being calculated, 2016 figures reported that one in six Americans were taking anti-depressants – not yet considering COVID isolation escalations. According to the UK-based Pharmaceutical Journal, in 2022, anti-depressant use escalated by 5.1%, with a whopping increase of 35% in new users over the past six years.

*David sits on the couch in his renovated living room*.

The real question is, how many of those who now use anti-depressants genuinely need the medication? According to the Economist, independent studies have shown that only 15% of those taking anti-depressants showed improvement with the drugs versus those taking placebos.

In 2021, I watched a dear friend plummet from happy to suicidal within months. Despite her previously diagnosed depression, I witnessed firsthand my loved one’s determination to thrive. In just a few short months, Patty had recently recovered from hip surgery, bought herself a new car, and consistently gave God praise and glory for her many blessings in life. After months of not seeing her long-term counselor during her post-surgical recovery, she visited him, prompting a medication modification.

*Freshly painted walls and new flooring completely changed the look of David’s living room.*

Unfortunately, this prescription alteration mutated Patty’s behavior from jubilant to joyless in just a few short weeks. I watched her lose her will to do anything – including cleaning her apartment, bathing, seeing me, or caring for her cat.

After a month of decline, I called Patty’s doctor to inform him of her altered mood and my concern. He was reluctant to adjust his prescriptions, opting to give her more time to adjust to his prescription changes.

A little over a month later, after not reaching Patty by phone, I requested a welfare check from her apartment’s management team. Mere words can hardly express the shock and horror I felt after learning that my friend had been found dead. To this day, I remain confident that Patty purposely took her own life via a drug overdose of prescription medication. I still miss her greatly.

Similar to the societal desire to utilize mood-altering anti-depressants, illegal drug use is continually rising – with fentanyl becoming one of the deadliest offenders. Between 2016 and 2021, fentanyl-related overdose deaths increased by 279% in our nation. David and I recently passed a country home near Chesapeake, VA, with a banner strewn across their front fence featuring the face of a loved one whose life had been tragically ended by fentanyl at a young age. A few years ago, I listened to prosecutors detail the devastation this drug can inflict on a community as I sat on a federal jury seeking to convict a drug dealer on six counts of the distribution of fentanyl. We found him guilty on all counts.

And what about the rise of life-altering surgeries being pushed on minors who’ve been convinced by the media, teachers, and the internet that they will not be happy until they fully embrace their “self-identified” gender? Apart from the loss of innocence of our youth, the confusion, madness, and chaos inflicted on families facing these challenges is unfathomable.

Just ask Erin Friday, a California mom who battled the sinister propaganda machine that sought to steal her daughter from her for the gender cult. “This is a $11 billion industry,” Friday said. “It’s a multi-headed hydra. There are people who are pushing this for financial gain; the medical community and the Big Pharma are pushing this because each trans-identified child is worth a million to a million-and-a-half dollars. They are lifelong medical patients.”

*My friend Patty and I celebrated our last Easter together in 2021.*

And so I ask again, how many people believe they need something that harms them – sometimes irreparably – because someone told them they needed it?

How many people are like the woman that news reporter Laura Ingraham interviewed (1:51) on the streets of San Francisco, crying because she felt she had to have fentanyl to cope with life?

How many doctors prescribe medications to “help” people who don’t need them?

How many people think they need a drug, medication, or surgery to “fix” what only God and love can do?

Such thoughts come from the devil. He’s manipulating countless people into seeking anything other than God.

*David and I in Savannah on Memorial Day.*

But not David. Not any longer. David is free, thanks to his Savior. My husband is a wonderful, handsome, talented, intelligent, gifted, tender, kind, thoughtful, and uniquely magnificent man. I’m so grateful to God for giving David to me as my husband – and for giving David his freedom.

While I’m continually amazed by David’s ability to transform projects into masterpieces, I’m more impressed by what our Heavenly Father has done to ultimately convert David’s body and spirit into a new creation. As 2 Corinthians 5:17 reminds us, “If anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come:[a] The old has gone, the new is here!”

David’s and my lives are better for our Savior’s touch. We perpetually pray that all those seeking God will find liberty in His transforming power – just as we have. After all, as John 8:36 reminds us, “if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.”

The only “C” word that matters is Christ

By Sara | May 31, 2023

They do not fear bad news; they confidently trust the Lord to care for them. (Psalm 112:7)

Life is a book in volumes three –
The past, the present, and the yet-to-be.
The past is written and laid away,
The present we’re writing every day,
And the last and best of volumes three
Is locked from sight – God keeps the key.
– Author unknown

As a self-proclaimed optimist, I work hard to always see the good in everything– even when things are at their worst. Sometimes, I can do so easily. At other times, maintaining that mindset takes a bit more conscious effort – and a whole lot of prayer.

If you follow my blog at all, you know that God brought me my soulmate, David, in culmination of a lifetime of surrender to my Savior. Despite my fears and trepidation, I heeded my heavenly Father’s call and traveled to FL to help Samaritan’s Purse with disaster relief, post-Hurricane Ian. While serving – in a completely unexpected act of grace and provision from my Heavenly Father – God revealed His plans to provide me with a godly husband.

David holds my heart. He is the blood that flows through my veins, and I can’t imagine life without him. David is my life’s greatest gift and an incomparable blessing from God.

One month and one day after we were married, David had an MRI scan of his prostate at his doctor’s recommendation. Eight days later, the results showed a high probability of cancer. It would take nearly four weeks before we could see a urologist to fully interpret the findings.

In the interim, my head was filled with a gamut of emotions. A sense of surreality is what hit me first. There’s no way this could be happening, I thought. I waited my whole life to find David. I couldn’t lose him now.

“This is a love story,” I told him. “And it’s not going to be a tragedy.”

The reality is that David lost his mother to cancer. She was only 52. My grandmother also died in her early 50s from the same disease that claimed my grandfather.

And yet, we also have good stories in both of our families. My mother is a cancer survivor – as is one of David’s older brothers, who battled a rare form of leukemia through an experimental treatment that saw him cancer-free within a few weeks of treatment. Despite another bout of lung cancer, he remains healthy today.

Still, of all the C-words one might want to hear and celebrate in a marriage, cancer is not one of them – neither are calamity, chaos, or cruelty.

But what about courage, compassion, and cheerfulness? Aren’t those all words David and I celebrate every day? Hasn’t God given us an abundance of blessings? Aren’t our cups already overflowing with joy, laughter, and love, love, love? Indisputably!

We will be strong, no matter what. I know that without reservation. We will fight this thing with every ounce of our combined strength – and God’s.

And so we’ve surrounded ourselves with prayer.

David and I are both warriors. We’ve lived through personal battles that might have broken others. It’s true that we still bear the scars of those wars – but only so we can share with others how God brought us through the valleys with His mighty hand.

So it is with this battle. “God is using this to further strengthen our testimonies,” I told David.

“I have more work to do for Him,” David agreed.

We will not let this challenge defeat us. From the first day we heard the news about David’s health, we’ve earnestly prayed that God would heal David’s body from the inside out. We know in our hearts that He is.

Our God made the universe (Genesis 1:1-2:3). He parted the Red Sea so the Israelites could walk through on dry land (Exodus 13:17-14:31). He brought dry bones back to life (Ezekiel 37:1-14). And He brought two formerly forsaken people together – destined for one another since birth – through a disaster relief ministry and a forgotten lunch (The David and Sara Saga, parts 1-3). There is no way that our story is anywhere near being over.

God affirmed our faith two weeks ago when we met with David’s urologist. At the doctor’s request, we scheduled a biopsy for mid-July to confirm what we already know in our hearts: the Great Physician is completely healing David. That is our earnest prayer, and we believe it with all our hearts. David’s doctor also believes we caught whatever this is early. He said his concern level was “low,” which only made us raise our hands and cry, “Yay, God,” as we walked away from the doctor’s office.

As I initially wrote that statement affirming my faith while sitting on our porch, the skies cleared, and the sun came out from behind where David sat lounging across from me, illuminating his frame. After a week of grey skies and three solid days of cold, rainy conditions, the sun’s presence was profound. I could only smile as I snapped David’s photo. A minute earlier, the skies were overcast. A few moments later, they began blazing with light and promise.

So it is with God’s presence in our lives. There is no fear, no challenge, no prognosis too big for our Heavenly Father to overcome. We speak conquest over this challenge. Our combined service for our Savior has only just begun.

And so, I confidently proclaim that the only “C” word that ever matters is Christ. This battle – like all the others we’ve ever faced – belongs to the Lord. And in Him, we will always have eternal victory.

How did we get here? – The David and Sara Saga, Part 2

By Sara | April 16, 2023

“I will exalt you, Lord, for you lifted me out of the depths and did not let my enemies gloat over me.” (Psalm 30: 1)

“How did we get here?” David’s brother, Jeffrey, asked at the start of his toast to his brother and me during our wedding reception. “How did we get to where they’re married?”

Unlike traditional toasts that provide anecdotes while congratulating the lucky couple, Jeffrey built his speech around whether God knows or cares about us when we’re hurting. His words struck a chord with not just David and me but everyone privileged to hear the “backstory,” as he called it.

*David and I stand in front of one of the shore-stranded and stacked shrimp boats in Ft. Myers, FL – post-Hurricane Ian in January, 2023.*

If you read my blog, you already know how David and I met and how unexpectedly beautiful our God-given love story is. Neither of us was looking for love when we traveled to Florida to help Samaritan’s Purse with disaster relief in Ft. Myers, post-Hurricane Ian. Anyone attending our wedding knew the same.

Instead, Jeffrey elaborated more on who God is and how much He used the love of our Creator to unite us.

“Yeah, you might say that they met on a hurricane project – a clean-up project in Ft. Myers on October 12th,” Jeffrey continued. “But I want to know where they were before that. I can tell you, there was a lot of pain. There were hearts that were shattered – broken relationships, dreams obliterated, enduring years of disappointments, wondering where God was in the pain of it all. They were begging for help.”

“I wonder if God did know the agony of their souls,” Jeffrey questioned. “Does God really get us? Does God really know what’s going on in those times?”

For the next five minutes, Jeffrey shared scripture with the spellbound room as he turned to passage after passage of reminders that God understands our heartaches.

My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? Why are you so far from saving me, from the words of my groaning? O, my God, I cry by day, but you do not answer, and by night, but I find no rest. (Psalm 22: 1-2)
Save me, O God, for the waters have come up to my neck. I sink in the miry depths, where there is no foothold. I have come into the deep waters; the floods engulf me. I am worn out calling for help; my throat is parched. My eyes fail, looking for my God. (Psalm 69:1-3)
Lord, you are the God who saves me; day and night, I cry out to you. May my prayer come before you; turn your ear to my cry. I am overwhelmed with troubles, and my life draws near to death. I am counted among those who go down to the pit; I am like one without strength. I am set apart with the dead, like the slain who lie in the grave, whom you remember no more, who are cut off from your care. (Psalm 88: 1-5)

“I think God does get it,” Jeffrey affirmed. “At least two thousand years ago…people were hurting but hanging on. God does know that we suffer. He [gives] us these words to give us comfort, to know we are not alone.”

I couldn’t agree more. Despite everything I’ve been through, my love for God never changed. His Holy Word kept me focused on my Savior and less on myself. In fact, my eternal love for my Heavenly Father sustained me during moments that could have broken me otherwise. The times when I felt utterly rejected by the world, I always knew that God was with me and loved me. That thought continually gave me hope.

By worldly standards, I was the perpetual outcast – shunned, spurned, and shamed in past relationships.

And yet, I never lost sight of my Father’s love. God’s grace pulled me up from the depths of despair more times than I could ever mention. I was committed to loving and serving my Savior – no matter the cost.

“What got them to this place right there?” Jeffrey continued. “Their love of God. They didn’t know each other, but they loved God. And that was the key component that they required in anyone else.”

*David and I were privileged to serve with Samaritan’s Purse in Ft. Myers on Monday, December 12, 2022 – the day after he proposed to me.*

Jeffrey went on to explain David’s ultimate decision around a year ago not to date anyone unless they loved God. That decision only came after another broken, worldly relationship pulverized his heart. Despite his best intentions in helping others, David learned the hard way that his pursuit of love with anyone who didn’t understand Christ would inevitably end in heartache.

“When he first told me about Sara, I knew she had passed the test,” Jeffrey explained to the sound of chuckles. “It was their love of God that got them there, despite all the lonely trials…Despite the effects of loneliness, they still heard God cry out that He needed people. God said, ‘Hmm. Tragedy in Florida. Whom shall I send?’ And David in Virginia Beach and Sara in Georgia, like Isaiah, said ‘Here am I, Lord. Send me.’ That’s how we got here. Their love of God became their love for each other.”

As David and I ponder the amazing grace that brought us together, we are continually in awe of the love we share and our God-aligned, astounding compatibilities. How many people in the world fully understand God’s love? And how many of us have surrendered our plans to our Heavenly Father’s? Of all the relationships currently standing, how many are built on God’s love, first and foremost?

As Jeffrey said, David and I loved God and placed Him first in our lives. Despite my fears and David’s missteps, we knew we were called to serve our Savior. We would never have met if we hadn’t entirely surrendered to God’s will over our own. If either David or I had once said, “I can’t do it. It’s too hard. It’s too much. I’m too busy,” or even “Maybe next time,” our paths would never have crossed.

How often, I wonder, do we miss the blessings that God has in store for us because we aren’t willing to relinquish our will to God’s? There may come a day when we all stand before our Heavenly Father in heaven and learn what our lives could have been if we’d only listened to God and done what He asked us to do instead of following our own plans for our lives.

I hope and pray that I will always obey my Savior’s calling. I want to hear, “Well done, good and faithful servant!” (Matthew 25:23). I’ve made many mistakes in my life that I’ve had to live with. I don’t want to regret another moment when I could have done more for God but chose not to.

After all, it’s only when I fully surrendered to my Heavenly Father’s sustaining grace that I received the biggest blessing of my life – finding my soulmate in David.

Whatever my Heavenly Father has yet to ask of me, whatever else He needs me to do, may I always be ready and eager to do so. After all, I’m a living testament to God’s outstanding provision. My life with David – finding true love with him is so much more than I ever could have asked for or imagined.

And I wouldn’t be here if I hadn’t yielded to my Savior. I have true joy beyond imagination because I said the simple but meaningful words: My life is yours, God. Guide me. Use me. Send me.

May those words always be on my lips and yours, beloved.

God is in this story – Part 2, The dress

By Sara | March 5, 2023

I will thank You, LORD, among all the people. I will sing Your praises among the nations. (Psalm 108:3)

In my last blog – God is in this story – Part 1, The Ring – I talked about how my Heavenly Father preserved my sister’s diamond for decades until I met my soulmate and needed an engagement ring.

A few weeks before David and I even considered rings, I met with my best friend, Didi, to share the good news of my engagement. I knew I had to tell Didi my story in person, so we arranged to meet at her house at the first opportunity.

*My best friend, Didi, and me outside her home.*

After detailing my story, I intended to ask Didi to be my Maid-of-Honor at the wedding. Before I could do so, she jumped up from her stool and exclaimed, “I have a dress! I have a dress!”

As surprised as I was at her announcement, I wanted Didi to hear my request. “I’m not done with the story yet!” I laughed. “Sit back down and hear the rest of it!”

After hugging and confirming her consent to join my wedding party, Didi jumped up in excitement again. “I have a dress! I have a dress!”

Before I could stop her, my friend ran to her garage and returned with a zipped garment bag with the most beautiful dress I’d ever seen.

“It’s from Bulgaria,” Didi explained. “My father brought it to me. I didn’t know what I’d do with it but thought maybe Sasha (Didi’s daughter) might wear it someday.”

As Didi explained, her father still lives in Bulgaria. He surprised her with the dress years ago. His unexpected transportation of Didi’s former gown may have surprised her when he first presented it, but that could hardly match my shock of seeing a wedding dress come out of my friend’s garage. It even boasted a veil and crinoline.

“It’s gorgeous,” I exclaimed. “I don’t know if it will fit – but it’s amazing! I can’t believe you had this in your garage.”

*Didi’s table setting for our visit included her mother’s Bulgarian plates and tea service.*

“You don’t have to wear it if you don’t want to,” Didi demurred. “But you can’t even find a dress like this here. It was handmade and hand beaded. If you like it, you can wear it in your wedding!”

“I love it,” I affirmed. “It’s absolutely stunning!”

“Try it on,” Didi pressed. “I think it will fit you.”

Without hesitation, I tried on the perfect offering in shock and amazement at my heavenly Father’s provision.

Miraculously, it fit!

“I can’t believe it!” I kept saying as Didi took pictures of me smiling in the dress – my face filled with joy at the incredulity of it all.

“This is incredible,” I said. “God is so good! I can’t believe you had a wedding dress in your garage – and that it fits!”

“You look beautiful in it,” Didi gushed. “It was meant to be.”

And so, I now have one more God-ordained component to add to my story. My Creator brought two strangers together in hurricane relief work and prompted my soon-to-be spouse to forget his lunch on the very day I had extra food to share.

Two days later, God placed the notion in my head to ask needy homeowners to tear down their kitchen wall – leading me to David, the wall-breaker. Little did I know then that David would eventually tear down my psychological barriers, as well.

That milestone achieved, my Creator brought me back to FL to help in the home where David would ultimately propose.

The next morning, we returned to serve with Samaritan’s Purse, precisely two months to the day when we first met. I had planned our service day together long before David’s proposal was even a thought.

And yet God knew how significant that day would be.

The following week, I remembered my gifted diamond that would inevitably become the symbolic stone of my engagement. My sister had given it to me while she still lived in Fort Myers – the city where David and I were to meet by divine providence decades later.

And then came my dress gift from God – perfectly preserved in my friend Didi’s garage. My Heavenly Father knew I would require it someday, so He compelled an earthy father to bring it from Europe for me. Although no one understood until now why the wedding dress was here, God knew I’d need it. In His omniscience, He provided a gown for me years before Hurricane Ian hit Florida and led me to serve with Samaritan’s Purse, let alone meet David.

And as unlikely as it seems, despite our size differences, Didi’s handmade dress fits me perfectly.

Step by step, God has demonstrated that He is not just in our story. His fingerprints are all over my life. No one could ever convince me otherwise.

And so, I will continue to recount my miracles to anyone I can – the jewelers, my friends, everyone coming to our wedding, the clerk in the county marriage office we met on Valentine’s Day (another story entirely), the pilot that brought David and I back together again on the holiday, my new doctor, all the clerks at Hobby Lobby who helped us find church decorations, my bosses and co-workers – and now all of you. I can’t stop talking about my miracles!

So, you see, God is in this story.

Even more, our Heavenly Father oversees all our stories – even when we don’t see or feel Him. There’s no moment He hasn’t already foreseen. He is right there with us through our trials and triumphs, our challenges and victories.

I feel God’s power over my life in a whole new way. I know that God loves me and has given me my heart’s greatest longing – His unconditional, unwavering, unearthly love, all wrapped up in the earthly body of a man named David.

Let my story strengthen your faith, beloved. Let it remind you that God knows what will happen in our lives, even before birth. If I can find my soulmate in the aftermath of a hurricane, a handmade European wedding dress in a friend’s garage, and a diamond in a long-forgotten box sent by my deceased sister decades earlier – there is nothing our Creator can’t do.

God knows you, beloved. He longs to bless you, give you hope, and a future (Jer. 29:11). Surrender to Him and let Him shower you with blessings as He has me. Our God can do anything. Let my story show you how very true that is. His fingerprints are all over your life – just as they are mine.

[Note: I will post a picture of my beautiful wedding dress here after my wedding on March 12^th. Stay tuned!]

Tag: #GodsMiracles;