Love And Marriage In A Shoe Box

I've mentioned before that I use a film clip every day in class or so often that it feels like every day. Today was no exception. I saw the news story posted here last year in print form and I recognized it immediately. All five classed watched it and I prefaced it with the question, "Do you believe God knows who you are going to marry/has it been decided?" I try to get the kids to really consider how the Lord works in our lives. I thought it was interesting that almost every girl believes God knows but almost every boy said no. That could lend itself more to the reality that young ladies think more about love and marriage than any deep theological debate. Here's where I need to give a disclaimer. This entry will make no sense unless you spend six minutes watching the clip below. Assuming you do, I will continue at the south end of the news story!

http://www.christianvideotv.com/7-year-old-boy-sends-a-christmas-shoe-box-to-the-philippines-14-years-later-this-happens/?utm_content=buffer39290&utm_medium=social&utm_source=facebook.com&utm_campaign=buffer

Here's some things we took away from this story. First, for a long time, our WCS students have made  very similar Christmas MAGI Boxes for children in Honduras/Haiti/Zambia so there is a natural connection. We've often talked about how our lives can be changed today and we won't know for fifteen years. I mentioned that if Tyrel Wolfe had been named John Smith, it would have been almost impossible to find him on Facebook. I liked the fact that Tyrel worked and paid his way to Manila to meet Joanna for the first time- something very Jacob and Rachel-ish about that! We spoke of him weeping about his belief that God brought them together. The girls were charmed that he learned Tagalog to ask Joanna's father for her hand in marriage in his native tongue. (The young ladies in class were adamant that gentlemen would do this. If he won't face your father, how do you know he'll stand up when times are tough?) We loved that she looked stunning and classy in a $5 wedding dress and he wore a traditional Filipino outfit. And what a gracious act to ask for these same shoe boxes for wedding presents....and then drive them across country to deliver them in person, a drive which must be close to 2000 miles. And the maturity of these youngsters who I surmise are only about twenty-two. I thought the best thought of the day came from one of my female students. To get them to think, I asked what would have happened if someone had cut in front of Joanna in line and the whole order of things would have been altered. With an amazing insight, the young lady said, "Maybe they did, Coach." Maybe they did....and maybe that's the point. Hope they live happily ever after. And may your life be blessed in the same way as this illogical and unpredictable and happily married couple. Wildest dreams just may come packed in a shoe box.

Applicable quote of the day:

A God without dominion, providence, and final causes, is nothing else but fate and nature.

Alexander Pope

God bless,
Steve
Luke 18:1
www.hawleybooks.com
E-mail me at steve@hawleybooks.com