Amy's Wedding

   I have been preparing for Amy's wedding for a while.  We have emailed back and forth about details for better part of a year. 

   The cake would be a simple, very elegant cake.  Strawberry and white cake with buttercream frosting and a grooms cake of butternut and chocolate frosting.  The wedding is to be at First Christian Church in Huntsville with the reception at the lumberyard.
 
   Darrin and I set the cake up together.  He helped me carry the cakes in.  I went to work as fast as I could so we could get back to JBear.

  Darrin took a minute to rest and leaned on a shelf that had the cake top and the toasting glasses on them.  Little did we know that the shelf was not attached and down the glasses went to the concrete floor along with the antique cake top.

  The cake top had been used for many generations.  The brides head broke off into many pieces. Darrin went to get glue and paint to fix the head.  I finished with the cakes.

   While I was waiting for Darrin to get back I found some glue and glued it back together.  We were able to leave as soon as Darrin got back.

  That evening I went to Amy's wedding.  She was such a beautiful bride.  The ceremony was beautiful.  I left a few moments early to get to the reception first.

  The cake still looked wonderful sitting in the window.  As with all things I was glad to see the topper looked as if nothing had ever happened.

I saw Mark Johnson at the wedding and to talk with him.  I had some great conversation with him. But and here is the big word that means things are about to take a one-eighty.


  I could not have seen this one coming.  I sat with Kenny for dinner. You have to know this is the pastor at the church I worked at in Huntsville that persecuted me for three years.

He stole my happiness with my job and had me convinced that I couldn't do anything well.  He even had me convinced that I was only qualified to run a copy machine.

   I learned a lot from those three years that have helped me be a stronger Christian.  I learned that all people including pastors are broken people.  They sin, just like me.  They go against what Jesus taught, just like me.  They hurt people whether intentional or not, just like me.

    At many points during those three years I felt like Job.  I had no idea why it was happening and there were many times I felt like I was sitting on the top of the garbage pile outside the city scrapping my wounds for relief and my spirit was so crushed that I just wanted this life to end.

    I learned during those three years that God did not ever turn his back on me.  I learned through so many lessons over then next two years that God had a plan and all we have to do is trust Him,

  He was right there with me and He drug me out of that situation.

Just like that cake top.  When it fell to the hard dark and clod floor and the head shattered.  God knelt down and carefully scooped up all the pieces of my life and carefully glued them back together.

    As I sat there and talked with Kenny and his wife Kelly, I could feel all the anger and hurt leave me.  I was surprised by my inner reaction.  After just one sentience I was comfortable to talk to him and even invited him to visit us in Mobile.