I was one of the first of my friends to get married. My marriage is still young– we celebrated six years this June– but I’ve stood as a bridesmaid several times over for my friends who have been married since. Anyone who has been through the wedding planning process can relate that the process is full of self-imposed stress. And that stress has a way of making you forget the stuff that really, really matters about a wedding.

I think for every friend I have ever been a bridesmaid for, there was a moment where the pressure was high and they asked for a reality check. My best advice was always this: The biggest part of the wedding planning is already done. God has provided the man, and praise Him! Because without that piece, the day isn’t happening. Absolutely everything else could fall apart– the dress, the flowers, the food, and the DJ– but if the one that your soul loves is still in, the most important part is covered.

I wear very few items of jewelry on a daily basis. One piece that barely ever comes off is a small chain with a set of wings given to me by my sister. She gave it to me as we read Let Me Be a Woman by Elisabeth Elliot during her engagement. Chapter 8, “The Weight of Wings,” resonated with us both, even at our differing stages of womanhood and marriage.

I learned from my mama how to host a meal. When I was growing up, my mom opened her home for showers, birthday parties, Christmas Eve dinners, graduation parties. You name it, she did it. She even hosted my wedding reception in the middle of COVID and you never would have known the world was shut down. 

And you’d better believe that I was enlisted to help her execute every party she had growing up; whether it was folding cloth napkins and setting the table for Christmas Eve, or setting up tables and chairs for a pig-pickin’, or setting up decorations for a theme party– I was there. And I learned a lot.

There are days, as a parent, that your kids will test you. They will fight each other like they’re trying to draw blood. They will disobey and defy you in ways that will knock you off your feet. And they’ll act out in ways that makes me think at least, “I was NEVER like this as a child.” 

And maybe I wasn’t, but I’m sure in other ways, I was. I can remember plenty of times I got in trouble for talking back, being mean to my brother, or being disrespectful. I can remember plenty of times that I slammed my door as a teen, thinking that would show my parents how angry I was. And I know that my parents still loved me through it, but now I know how they must have felt on the other side of that door.

If you think about it, 1 Peter had to be a very revolutionary letter to the church. Peter, a jew and disciple of Jesus, repeatedly asserts how Christ’s work on the cross put Jews and Gentiles on the same playing field. Until the cross, there was a clear line between the two groups because the Jews were God’s chosen people under His covenant with Abraham. But Jesus’ spilt blood on the cross meant that not only Jews but Gentiles as well could be brought into the family of God and enjoy the same inheritance, grace, and spirituality that was reserved for Jews only up to that point.

I’m not sure how God speaks to you because it can be very individual. God speaks to me in color, brush strokes and paint. Let me explain. I am a bible journaler. I take what I am learning, what God is speaking to me about and document it. Sometimes in my bible, sometimes in a journal and sometimes it comes out in another way. By doing this when I look back I can see the woven thread so to speak. I can see the journey much clearer. This morning my daughter Megan asked me if I would like to be a guest writer for Soul Deep Devotions.

So let’s wrap this series up! So far, we’ve been able to uncover two major ideas; the first being that Jesus isn’t talking about physical mansions for us to room and board in when we get to Heaven. He’s talking about the fact that the Father’s final dwelling place for us is the ultimate home that anyone who believes in God is factored into. We are given a home that has been atoned for by the blood of Jesus– the home God originally intended for us tohave before the fall.

So Jesus is our home. A universal statement of individual promise; Jesus affords each and every one of us our own home within Him– a home that embraces every part of who you specifically are. Now, I know there may still be a few who are bummed out that we’re not talking about real, heavenly real estate on the seaside or up in the mountains with a veranda and a floor plan that would make Pinterest boards jealous.