What a journey....

We met John & Ariel 10 years ago when they were students at South. Neither were Christians but were both willing to chat about the Lord and "investigate" what the Gospel was all about. It was amazing to see  how many believers the Lord brought into their lives on this journey that became some of their closest friends.  SO many people loved these two and were praying for them.  Their spiritual journey continued. They both had many questions, fears, and doubts. The eyes of their hearts were still not opened. Shane and I got to do their pre-marital counseling with them in 2007. What a privilege. Our friendship with them went so much deeper through this process.  And we, along with so many others, prayed for the Lord to give them the faith to believe. They got married in September. Nine months later they had their first son, Jake. A year and a half later they had their second son, Blake. Their journey continued. We moved to Orlando for 2 years, but continued talking with them and seeing them when we would come visit. I remember them saying at one point, "It's so crazy how almost ALL of our closest friends we have are Christians." It was OBVIOUS the Lord was at work in both of their lives. The prayers continued by so many for them. They began attending Grace Community some since that is where most of their friends went to church. Their journey continued. There were ups and downs. Lots of struggles (when is that NOT the case in all of our lives??).  I remember being outside with the girls one HOT Orlando spring afternoon and I saw that Ariel was calling my phone. I answered and after a few minutes of chit-chat she then said to me, "Well, I wanted to call you and let you know that yesterday I gave my life to Jesus. I understand now. He opened my eyes. I just wanted you to know." ANNNNND I proceeded to weep. What a moment. The Lord had done what SO many had prayed for for SO long. WOW. He is so faithful-even when we are filled with doubt that He is working at all. When we moved back to Mobile from Orlando, we continued building our friendship with them and talking about things that REALLY matter. We had many laughs and shared many tears with them. There were very hard times. John still didn't believe and that was very hard. Ariel (as we all do) was struggling to grow in her faith and felt like she would take one step forward and two steps back. The journey continued. So many continued to pray for them and for John's eyes to be opened to the Gospel. They joined a community group at church and John continued to "investigate". Every time we would have communion at church and I would see John pass the elements by, I would ask the Lord, "When?? It's been so many years. When will you open his eyes? When??".  John was waiting to "understand" it all. He wanted it to all make perfect sense to him and really, for there to be no need for "faith". He is very analytical and wants all his t's crossed and i's dotted. And then there was the questions..."what if it's not for real?"and "what if I fail??". Well, guess what? You will fail. We ALL do. That's why we need the Gospel. That's why we need Grace. That's why we need forgiveness. That's why HE has done it ALL for us. We must, in faith, trust. Trust that HE is who HE says HE is. Trust that WE are who he says WE are. And trust that He ALONE can rescue and redeem us.

Well, several weeks ago, Shane and I had dinner with John and Ariel. We talked about everything under the sun and eventually, as always, found ourselves talking once again about Jesus and our need for Him. We talked for hours. We laughed. We cried. Shane is not a "pusher" when it comes to the Gospel.  This particular night, he communicated with much urgency and conviction with John.  He challenged him to not let the sun come up before he dealt with his heart....that TODAY is the day of salvation....There were alot of the same questions and fears expressed, but something was different. During our conversation I was begging the Lord to give him the faith to believe....to give him the faith to SURRENDER....to give up....to STOP trying to figure it all out and calculate it out on his own. Shane shared with him again the verses about if you only have the faith the size of a mustard seed- that is enough. HE wants whatever faith you have. We talked forever and then left them and went home. On our drive home we continued to beg the Lord to open the eyes of his heart THEN. We know the Lord is is complete control and that His timing is perfect. Our hearts could rest knowing that and yet  we just felt like it was time. The next morning when we got up, Shane had a text from John. He had sent it an hour or so after we had left from dinner. He thanked us for talking with them and for really "pushing" him to step out in faith and surrender. He needed to be challenged and pushed. He realized he did have the faith of a mustard seed and that he knew it was time. He would never be able to figure it all out. It was time to trust and let go. So he did....with his wife there with him. How amazing. A ten year journey of conversations, questions, doubts, fears, HOPE....with SO many different people that the Lord placed in their lives. So incredibly cool. We are beyond thankful to have been on this journey with John and Ariel....and excited about continuing to be on this journey with them. I can't wait to see what all God does in and through their lives and their family. 

They had their two precious sons baptized a few weeks ago at church. To be able to sit there and watch and listen to them commit to raising their children in the ways of the Lord and trusting that He will one day draw their sons to Himself....it was definitely one of my most treasured moments. LOVE you guys so much and THANK YOU for sharing your lives with us. 

Scott explaining the baptism and what it meant...

Brings tears to my eyes every time I look at this!

Such a sweet family....

The elders standing with them....

Baptizing Jake...He was SOOOO excited :)

Look at that smile!

Blake, on the other hand, was a bit skeptical :)

Praying for them....

All their family that came to support them.....What an amazing day!