Nuh, Uh … No Way!

Over a year ago, a phone call came from dear dear friends saying their youngest was getting married. We’ve been friends since before he was. We’ve had the joy of watching him grow from pregnancy to manhood. Uh, that’s hard to type …. he’ll always seem a boy to us. Let’s say,  “old enough to get married.” You know, those few friends in life that become family … that’s our relationship.

We weren’t shocked he was engaged. We had met his girlfriend and knew it was a possibility. What shocked us?  … They were getting married in SOUTH AFRICA and requested my husband officiate their marriage! Last we heard, the wedding would be in the States.

I visited Egypt once, but thought that was all of Africa I’d ever see. There are so many places around the globe to visit. Africa was never top on my list … entirely due to the overly warm climate! I thought … I’ll melt in a matter of minutes and be miserable; subsequently making everyone around me miserable.

None of that mattered anymore! I’d trudge through. I was thrilled at the opportunity to see new places and be present for this “family” wedding.

 Disclaimer: I was naïve about South Africa’s climate. Any place “south” of VA is hotter! “SOUTH” Africa sounded like the worst of the worst. The location of the equator and poles brought no barring on my conclusions. It would be their summer season … Yikes! I decided if I melted that would be a noble sacrifice for such an occasion.

The bride-to-be was from South Africa!
She came to the States for college … the rest is history!

We had our own bride and groom to concentrate on, and in our eyes they were far more important! They were the celebrities on our trip!

Spending two weeks with beloved friends (about 35 of us went) was an overwhelming joy and blessing!

I anticipated this trip for a year and was so excited to have an adventure far away. Every time I skip oceans, continents, etc. it’s an adventure, but this one had a bonus of “family/friends” as travel mates. I prepared as best I could, but I just didn’t know!

It blew me away!!!

We all kept saying it over and over … this is magnificent!

South Africa was mountainous, not desert like central Africa. (Which is the photos we normally think of.) It was green and lush, even though they’d been through a drought. The oceans … gorgeous! Sort of tropical but with rugged-clift coastline like California.

I am sure I will share more as weeks go on … so so so many new experiences!

My First Impression: God is SO BIG!

I know I’ve said this before, but when you experience it anew, it leaves an impression deeper than the last one. The vastness of this world attests to Him, The Creator. When I see more and more of this world, my spirit takes deep deep breaths and drinks in the overwhelming sense of how He is bigger than I could ever think. Experiencing Him in new scenery, topography, people, animals, etc.; all the things that exist is that place, God grows!!

He looks Bigger and Grandeur, more Magnificent:

How did He create so many different places, cultures, creatures, people and never run out of new ideas?

AND, He’s. Even. Bigger. Than. That. …

More than my mind can conceive or contemplate!!

“But the basic reality of God is plain enough. Open your eyes and there it is! By taking a long and thoughtful look at what God has created, people have always been able to see what their eyes can’t see: eternal power, for instance, and the mystery of his divine being. So nobody has a good excuse.”

Romans 1:20 MSG

Nothing like a new adventure to expand your image of

God in a whole new way!

 
For a personal praise time; here’s a song  by Passion; suits this topic perfectly:

Click Here … Bigger Than I Thought

Whew … He’s BIG Ya’ll,

Feel free to share with a friend(s).

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