Another Wedding

We were so happy to go to our friend Daniel's wedding tonight - he married another girl named Madison, which of course was something interesting to our Madison.  The wedding was down in Atlanta at what was essentially an old warehouse with a lot of Christmas lights inside.  But it was good to be downtown again, after such a long absence.  We went with our friends from church, and were glad to be there.  We did have to leave a little early, but that's okay - we're not ones to jump in and line dance or party too late.  There was a terrific storm on the way down, with driving rain and amazing winds.  To give you an idea of the strength of this sudden squaller, there were several more trees down on 400, right there at the beginning of highway 400 in downtown Atlanta.

But all went well for the wedding, despite the torrential downpours initially.  We had a valet parking situation, which was something Daddy has cleverly managed to avoid all these years.  But not this time.  Not a big fan of complete strangers driving your car to a parking space not that far away - what's the point?  And you get back in the car, and of course you have to adjust the seat and so forth.  And anyone who's seen "Ferris Bueller" knows there's a slight risk your car is probably being driven all over town with the Star Wars theme blaring as you do amazing jumps.

I digress.  The wedding was nice, and again, we're so happy for this kid.  Daniel will always be a kid to us, as we've known him for ten years or more, back when he was a kid just helping out with the children's ministry.  He's incredibly gifted, but beyond that he's got an amazingly good heart.  His Madison is blessed in ways she'll never be able to measure - he's a passionate hard-working and compassionate sort.  When he found out Mommy had cancer, his reaction was one of the most touching things I remember.

Anyway, the wedding was very nice, and we were all blessed to be a part of it.

The rest of the day was a nice day for Madison, spending more time with the grandparents, watching movies and going off on trips to Lowe's to get those necessary armaments to do battle with our toilet once more.  Yes, this is the leaky toilet, the one with a flapper that wasn't sealing properly.  It's amazing how much you can learn about any given subject when you are suddenly afflicted with it.  Suddenly, we're throwing phrases around like 'leaky flapper,' and talking like expert plumbers.  The battle part comes from the fact that our first replacement flapper was not actually doing the job.  But lo!  Today, we have claimed victory.  We may have lost that first battle, but we came back to win the war!  The day is saved, and so is our toilet.

Yes, while others spend their spring breaks going to trivial places like the beach, we choose to head to the trenches, and dive headlong into the battle zone of the flush!  Of course, there were other glorious enterprises we embarked upon:  check requests, mulch bags, faulty drains, painting of the garage floor, and devotional writings.  Oh yes, I know you're jealous.

Just to rub it in further, here's another entry from that devotional on the periodic table of elements:

“So encourage one another with the hope you have. Build each other up. In fact, that’s what you are doing.” 1 Thessalonians 5:11 NIrV

HELIUM

He 2

     Helium is a party waiting to happen!  In fact, what’s a party without it?  Parties have all sorts of colorful balloons – and you can’t have a floating balloon without some helium inside. 
     Scientists will tell you that helium is a gas that’s lighter than the air around us.  Because of that, it’ll make just about anything you put it into float higher and higher!

     It’s for this reason that helium brings about happy thoughts.  Sulfur doesn’t quite do that – it stinks.  Rutherfordium is radioactive, and you want to stay away from that. But helium, my friends, is the life of the party!

     If you were an element, which would you want to be?  Would you want to be smelly?  Or radioactive?  Or would you rather spend your time lifting people up?

     That’s how God wants us to be.  Paul told us in 1 Thessalonians 5:11 to do this:  “Encourage one another with the hope you have.  Build each other up.” 
     Build each other up, up and away!  Everyone needs to be lifted up from time to time.  Can you remember a time you were down, and a friend or family member tried to cheer you up?  That’s the way it works:  our lives should be like helium, lifting up others in prayer and encouragement. 

     Here’s your lab assignment:  can you think of someone who is down right now?  Maybe it is someone who needs to be lifted up.  Why not take time to do just that: bring them up in prayer, and beyond that, do your best to lift their spirits.  Be like that noble gas helium, and help others around you soar to new heights!