Day twenty: The presence of presents

No, none of the physical tangible presents were for me, but that does not mean that I did not get anything. I would say that this entire weekend I got one of the best gifts, time with my family and some old friends. Sunday morning we all got up and went to church at my dad's cousin's church, all as one big happy family (and I am pretty sure we doubled the size of that congregation). After that we headed over to the bride's family's house for lunch and to watch the happy couple open their presents. And it really gets you thinking. I mean, yes you need all of these physical things starting out in a marriage for your home and such, but really what's the most important thing you need? God and love. I think that they definitely have an abundance of the latter one and God is always there. Centering your marriage around Christ is important. So, they opened all of their presents, with some pretty adorable admirers around them (see picture below), and then I headed out for my 6 hour drive back to campus. It is a good thing I can entertain myself pretty easily. Singing at the top of my lungs took up the majority of my trip, and the rest of the void was filled with talking to myself and making up songs to the radio tunes. Needless to say, the state of Illinois kind of made me go crazy for the 4 hours that I was driving in it. But I cannot help but think about the entire weekend and what a blessing it was. It was filled with everything I could have asked for, and I couldn't imagine it going any other way. You definitely need that time away to realize what you really have. I realized God has given me so many gifts, and sometimes I had to go a little ways to find them, but this weekend I did. I hope you all take a moment to think of the gifts that God has given YOU. He blesses us all everyday, whether we see it or not. Trust me, it will help find the 'joye' in life.
God bless!

"For you make him most blessed forever, you make him glad with the joy of your presence." Psalm 21:6

"But the Lord your God would not listen to balaam; instead the Lord you God turned the curse into a blessing for you, because the Lord your God loved you." Deuteronomy 23:5