I’ve been relishing the gift of friendship this weekend as God brought two of my very good friends out to Arizona for another friend’s wedding. Both Ami and Rebekah stayed with us, and the entire visit was a continual conversation about God’s workings in our hearts, our burdens, our joys, our separate journeys of getting to know God in deeper and fuller ways, and our daily lives and ministries where God has placed each of us.

Ami and Rebekah came to witness the marriage of our friend Yesenia as she became the newest Mrs. Crothers on November 12th. Yesenia and Jason were married in a beautiful ceremony held just at sunset. Ami was Yesenia’s matron of honor, Rebekah helped with the ceremony/reception decorations, and I was privileged to sing in the wedding. Yesenia chose John Rutter’s arrangement of For the Beauty of the Earth for her processional. The charge to the bride and groom was centered on the examples of Aquila and Priscilla. This missionary husband and wife duo is always mentioned as a unit in the New Testament. They gave of their pride, their possessions, and of their very lives for the advancement of the gospel. Ami and I had just been discussing the idea of missional living–living for the cause of Christ’s kingdom–so, the charge was especially meaningful to me as I thought of the eternal significance a marriage should have and applications specific to my marriage.

Ami and Rebekah both attended our services at Crossroad on Sunday. I was thankful for the opportunity to share our lives and our church with them, and they jumped right in to help set up and clean up.

Monday, I took Rebekah to a nearby park where we continued our catching up as we walked around the lakes. She and I hadn’t spent that much time together in years! Phone calls and cards don’t give me the window into my friend’s heart the same way that a face to face visit does.