A New Life

As I lay in a hammock on our front porch listening to howler monkeys and exotic birds, my mind struggles to remember what day it is and how long we have been here. It’s amazing that a life so drastically different than any life we have ever known before could seem so normal. Each morning I wake up next to the love of my life, we make a cup of Montana coffee, and we walk through a Costa Rican jungle for a whole two minutes before we are on the edge of a private black sand beach. After our morning yoga session, we cannot help but meditate on what a great Poppa God we have for bringing us to such a beautiful place.
Life here is simple and peaceful. It feels as if there is no one for miles and yet we walk for 30 minutes and are in Montezuma. There we submerge ourselves back into the world just long enough to buy our groceries so we can retreat once again. It is such a beautiful thing to have a month to only concern yourself with serving one other person. It is so freeing to let down all walls that were built to protect you from people before and embrace a life where two people are learning to become one.

Married at Last

By the Aspen arch my brothers stand at my side reminding me of three worlds I journeyed through to get to this point, my God in the wind at my back telling me how proud of me He is, and my bride walking down the long dirt isle easily breaking the foolish idea I lost my emotion for the day. The late spring sun broke through in just the right time to push aside the rainy clouds to bring a little color to the earth.
It was now so clear to me how the bible could say I’ve received salvation in one place and how it’s coming to me in another; how the church is married to God in one spot and how He’s coming for her in another. Before now I had already fallen in love and married her in my heart, and our relationship was like that of a married couple (minus a few aspects). To me we were married but there was still a deeper level we could go. The rings and dress are bought and everyone is waiting for the bride to enter. But there is still a long walk to get to our bridegroom, and it may not be the cleanest way there but you don’t care at this point. All you see is what’s in front of you because no matter where you go the sun breaks out just in time. And in the end who cares if the dress gets a little dirty, it’s gonna come off anyway.