Two Empty Chairs

I went to a wedding last night. I didn’t want to go. If there was any way I could have gotten out of it, I would have. But there wasn’t. The young man getting married has become a part of my family, and he was marrying a precious young woman. As much as I didn’t want to go, I couldn’t not go. Being a part of their special day was too important.

Barbara and I loved going to weddings together. The ceremony, the vows, the commitment, the love being expressed. It always spoke to our romantic sides. And, as the two of us have been so involved in marriage ministry, wedding ceremonies always had special meaning to us. (The receptions maybe not always, but that’s another story.)

Earlier in the week I told the young man that I would definitely be there for the ceremony, but anything beyond that would be a game time decision and I made no promises! I fully expected I would be leaving as soon as the wedding party processed out. Even as I was headed to the venue, which was a bit of a drive, I was doing the math in my head of what time I would be getting back home. Certainly, by dark, I thought. (The wedding started at 5:00.)

But God.

As usual, God had his own plan and went before me. Why this should surprise me anymore, I have no idea.

I had another dear friend that I knew would be there, and was also going to be by herself, as her husband was unable to attend for various reasons. It was not an optimal situation for either of us. She, having known Barbara and I for a long time, knew that the event was going to be difficult for me. And within minutes of my arriving (a little early), she sent me a text simply saying, “Praying for you!” I already started feeling a little better.

She arrived shortly after and we decided that we would help each other get through the evening.  I mentioned to her that I may not stay past the ceremony. She encouraged me to just take it one stage at a time. When the ceremony was over, during the “cocktail hour” stage, we discovered that we had been seated at the same table. That made it easier to stay for dinner.

The evening was very nice. The usual pre-dinner, early stages of the reception were all very sweet. The food was delicious. The conversation around our table was delightful. (God had also arranged it so the other two couples at our table were dear friends and “safe and comfortable” for me to be around.)

Then it hit me. Beside me were two empty chairs. There had been discussion earlier about who the other couple was that was supposed to be sitting there, but there wasn’t any. It was just our six names on the table seating card, not eight.

Two empty chairs.

One for Barbara. And one for my absent friend, the husband of the friend sitting next to me. Wow. I tapped my friend beside me, looked at the two empty chairs and said, “Look. Two empty chairs.” That’s all I had to say. She got it immediately. In my circle we call that a God Kiss, and one of the highest magnitude, I might add.

If you’ve stuck with me till now you may be asking yourself, “What’s the point?” Well, the point is that God is going to ask us to do difficult things sometimes, and our puny little minds tell us that it will be too hard. That the outcome will be bleak. That it won’t be worth it.  Can I remind you of Isaiah 55:8-9? His ways are not our ways. His ways are higher than our ways. The same with His thoughts, also not ours, and also higher than ours. News flash! We don’t know it all!

So as I thought about going to a wedding for the first time without my sweet wife, all I saw coming was pain, hurt and sadness. Instead, I received a great reminder of how much He loves us and how He is always with us and well-aware of what we’re going through. This is who my God is.

And just one more little piece of evidence. At church this morning, our pastor talked about the importance of friendships and how we are designed to be in relationship, and to be there for each other. Yes. Yes, we are.

Be looking for the “empty chairs” in your life. He’s always with us. And He’ll never leave us.