Astonishing Kindness

Psalm 105:1, "Give thanks to the Lord and proclaim his greatness. Let the whole world know what he has done."

As some of you know, Nathan and I are getting married in just five weeks. The wedding planning has been going on for a few months now, and we are beginning to get busier and busier with last minute details. This week has included my bridal shower, meeting with our wedding coordinator, securing a hair and makeup beautician, getting a timeline from our photographer, and finding a DJ.

This is a very exciting season in Nathan's and my life both. That in itself is something to celebrate, but the joy that I'm wanting to share with you today goes beyond Nathan and me.

Something I've seen through the course of this wedding preparation is the astonishing kindness people have shown to us.

My matron of honor has gone above and beyond in making our wedding special. She came up from Sacramento to visit, and while she was here she took time to make a video of Nathan answering questions about how many kids he thinks we'll have to where he sees us living in ten years to surprise me with a gift I'll treasure throughout his and my marriage! She gave me the most beautiful bridal shower imaginable and has truly blessed me through the entire wedding planning season.

Another person who has blessed me is our photographer. I paid her for four hours of photography at our wedding, however that won't be enough time to get pictures of everything. Instead of cutting our time short, she said she will give us more time and told me not to worry about it because it's her gift to us. Once again, I've been left in amazement over the kindness we've been receiving.

Then, last night we went to meet with someone who is going to be our DJ/MC at the reception. From what I understand, DJs are normally very expensive. We met with this person keeping that in mind, but when we sat down to discuss the wedding, he shared with us, "This is something I do for fun, so I'm not going to charge you to do your wedding."

By this point, I had seen God's hand of provision and blessing so much in the course of one week that I was about to burst with praise, and I had to share with you today the amazing things God has done! I can't keep quiet about these blessings! I can't remain silent and not share with you the incredible goodness of God!

It's easy to look at our world and see all the doom and gloom on the news, in our Facebook newsfeed, and in life in general, but I'm here to share with you that there is still much to be to thankful for and people still show astonishing kindness today!

As I'm beginning to praise God more and more, I'm realizing that there are a lot of other things I could be sharing with you in this devotional about the goodness of God and the astonishing kindness of others. Perhaps we just overlook all the blessings instead of taking time to praise God for them.

So, my question is this... How has God blessed you today, this week, or this month?

We need to heed the instruction of Psalm 105:1 and, "Give thanks to the Lord and proclaim his greatness. Let the whole world know what he has done." I'd love to hear your stories!

Dear Heavenly Father,

I hear often about all the doom and gloom, but I'm seeing that there is a lot to be thankful for and I've been amazed at the astonishing kindness people have shown me in the recent months! Thank You for the blessings You've given me, and thank You for opening my eyes to see that goodness. I pray You'll help me not overlook these gifts but rather take time to praise You for them. In Jesus' Name.

Amen.