Someone at work the other day was telling the new interns about the people who had once worked in the box office, where I started at the A.D. Players. She said "Christy sat right there her intern year and I watched her plan her entire wedding right from that desk, twice!" The interns looked puzzled...so I told the story that I have so often told again...but this time God revealed something to me that I had not appreciated until this very moment.
On Oct. 1, Joey and I will have been married 11 years. Joey proposed to me our intern year at A.D. Players on December 6, 2004. I went to work immediately planning my wedding. It was going to be in Hattiesburg, Mississippi where Joey and I met. The ceremony would be held at Petal United Methodist Church. We were to be married by the Pastor of the church we both went to while in school at the University of Mississippi. Our photographer was a friend of my best friend. Our reception would be held at the Holiday Inn hotel and all of my close friends and family would be there. The entire wedding was planned. I had my dress, I had the location, I had the date and I was ready to go in July of 2005.... or so I thought....
It was the end of August and everyone was watching Hurricane Katrina, which was headed right towards New Orleans. I stayed glued to the TV watching the horrors that were happening at the Superdome and I-10. Our school was only an hour or so away from New Orleans so we had tons and tons of friends in New Orleans. I wanted to just get up and go and help. Communication with Joey's family was difficult because cell service was patchy. But we finally got in touch and Joey's mom told us that it was really really bad. So many things were destroyed. They didn't have power for over 2 weeks. She then told me that she did not think we could have the wedding there.
Woah! The entire wedding that I had planned was gone. And I had 1 month to plan a new wedding in Houston, TX where things were way more expensive.
As you can imagine, I turned into a crazed bridezilla. I worked relentlessly trying to replan this wedding. First, our friends suggested their church. This particular church normally charges $2000 for someone to get married there. We had only planned on paying $150 for the church in Mississippi! How on earth could we possibly do that? Well, the friend talked to the pastor and the pastor agreed to let us use the church for $150 and he would marry us! Amazing.
Next came the reception. Where on earth were we going to be able to have a reception on such short notice? I get a call from my bosses assistant telling me that my boss would like me to have my reception at the Briar Club in River Oaks (which is a country club in a very well to do part of Houston). My first reaction was "well, that is great, but there is no way we can pay for that!" My bosses response: "You pay for what you were going to pay for at your other venue in Mississippi, and I will cover the rest." What?!!! I could not accept such a huge gift! Especially from a woman who had known me for less than a year! But after much persuasion, I accepted this wonderful gift that I will never ever forget.
Next, the photographer. Sitting at the box office desk at 4:30pm on a Friday afternoon, I googled Houston Photographers. A woman named Julia Bailey came up. I contacted her to ask about pricing. It turned out that she was displaced from New Orleans! She needed work and agreed to do our wedding for $2000. Her pictures are beautiful and she is now one of the top photographers in the US and charges over $10,000 for wedding pictures!
Our friends provided sanctuary flowers, videography, live music and support. The wedding was planned again with 2 weeks to spare.
Then....... Hurricane Rita was headed right for Houston! With 2 weeks to go, everyone had to evacuate! And where did we go? To the closest family we had, Joey's family in Mississippi!
We weren't sure if we were going to be able to make it back. Gas was still hard to get around that area. At this point I was a mess! I said "I'm bringing my wedding dress and we will get married in a field if I have to!" But we did make it back. We strapped gas cans to the roof of the car and made it back with a week to spare.
Now here's the thing.... at the time, I was disappointed. Not at how God had obviously provided a wedding that was way better than I had ever planned in Mississippi. I DID recognize that blessing for sure. BUT....I was disappointed that my REAL friends and some of my family could not make it to the wedding.
At the time I had been at the A.D. Players for a short period of time. I didn't know the people very well and my wedding was about to be filled with A.D. Players. I had always imagined that my wedding would be filled with long time friends and family. I was so disappointed.
But as I told this story to the interns.... something hit me. Something that brings me completely to tears.
God KNEW what was ahead. God KNEW that I would be spending a good chunk of the rest of my life here in Houston. God KNEW that I was going to raise my kids here. God KNEW that these acquaintances, at the time, would become my family. And God KNEW that when I looked back on my wedding day, that the ONLY people that I would have wanted at my wedding were the EXACT people that were there.
I didn't know it at the time. I didn't see His plan. I didn't see this HUGE BLESSING that I am now able to see.
God knew that 11 years later, I would have wanted those exact friends there at my wedding. The friends who have supported me, prayed for me, cried with me, helped raise my children. The friends who I consider my Houston Family.
It took me almost 11 years to see the beautiful thing that God did for us. It took me 11 years to see that one example of just how much God loves me.
