More Weddings and Trips to Seattle!

LARINAAAAAAAAAAA!!

Wow. This is an email that I have been longing to write. And now I get to.....

LARINA IS ENGAGED!

Larina is one of my dearest friends. She was in my small group during my second year of BSF - the study of Matthew. I remember how precious she was then, how insightful but not confident about her ability. I remember the leader's meeting that fall when Greg was talking about the requirements for leadership and I heard "Larina" out of the air, and I knew it was the Lord telling me that she was my pick. I wrote her name down on my pad and made it my goal to find out if she was willing. The next night she and I went to a party together and I asked her some questions and by Monday I was ready to tell Verla about her. Verla said, "YES!" immediately and I approached Larina. She wasn't sure about leading. But after praying about it and talking to her dad, she and I sat on the steps of the church and she said - wonderfully candid - "My dad says that if God wants me to do it, then I can't say no; so I'm willing to do it, even though I don't think I can."

Since then she has become one of my best, most stalwart friends in the faith of Jesus Christ. She has been an EXCELLENT leader, from whom I have learned (even though I trained her, initially). We have struggled through many things together, with our discussion groups, with dating and being single, with her perpetual slowness in making purchases for her condo (smile); we've shopped, read, prayed, cryed together. She listened as I went through the freedom experience and eagerly asked questions and watched with excitement as I changed into who I am today.

At Thanksgiving she called me and told me that she had started dating this fella recently (he's a Canadian citizen, interestingly) and that he was "the one". I cried.

When I think of the times we've talked about this, the prayer times we've had, the phone calls and e-mails.

I can only rejoice in the grace of our Lord, and of his provision to my friend.

Larina's engaged.

Her wedding is in June, and I get to be a bridesmaid. When she called and sounded so urgent I was afraid something was wrong. But before I called her back I thought.."oh, I hope that she's getting engaged!" and then I thought, "this is one of the times* that I desire with all my heart to stand up next to a friend and bless her marriage" - don't get me wrong. I am always blessed and glad to be asked to be in a wedding. I'm in Leah's wedding this spring and its a joy!! But I never expect to be asked, and I am OK if I'm not asked (not offended). Sometimes its nice to not be in the wedding - then you get to see the whole thing!

But this time its a labor of love. Larina is like one of my "kids" - one of the first women who I mentored into leadership and who I partnered with in BSF, who was under my wing. And now she's getting married.

My joy is like after giving birth (is that weird?). After the struggles, the labor of the days that we wept together - here it is.

OK, enough. I'm just so excited and wanted to share it!

* [Barb and Rob were one of the times like this - after 7 years they were getting married, after knowing Barb for more than 1/2 my life; Anne and Shawn, too, - after all they had been through, in 5 years, seeing them grow while apart and grow even more while together, to see them triumph in relationship together]