Saturday, May 23 was like something out of a movie. My son Nathan (21) walked me down the aisle of a European cathedral built in the 12th century. The sun shone down through stained glass windows, causing the elaborate interior to glimmer and glow. It was my daughter’s wedding. My husband was waiting to walk her down the aisle minutes after my entrance. She wore a beautiful gown, and a handsome Czech man stood waiting to take her as his bride. It was the perfect moment and one that had been bathed in prayer for decades.
I’ve been praying for my daughter’s future husband nearly since the day she was born. She’s had a few boyfriends over the years, but with each one my mother’s heart told me they weren’t right … and thankfully Leslie figured that out, too. 🙂
Then there was the day that my daughter told me she was moving to the Czech Republic to be a missionary, and honestly the first thought in my mind was: She’s going to meet someone, fall in love, get married, and live there forever! I didn’t like the idea of losing my daughter forever. Or basically I didn’t have faith that my prayers had been working. Thankfully, God showed me that all my prayers HAD been answered, and I wasn’t losing a daughter but gaining a son. We love Honza, and his heart for God. We can’t wait to see how God is going to use Leslie and Honza together.
That day in the cathedral I was reminded that God’s good plans aren’t just about us. And they aren’t just about 2015. They aren’t just about our generation. God has been at work in the Czech Republic for a long time. Leslie and Honza live in Moravia, and hundreds of years ago more missionaries came from there than from any other country. Now, sadly, there is less than 1% of people who consider themselves Christians, but God has not giving up on that place yet. How do I know? I know my daughter’s heart and I know Honza’s heart. I know how they love people and how they pray.
So on the day that the sun shone down through that stained glass window more than a marriage was taking place. God was building a family unit and forming a promise for the future of that country. He was answering my prayers and the prayers of generations who have gone before me. It’s amazing how that happens, and it’ll be awesome to see how these prayers will be answered through the years. I’m thankful to have a front row seat, even if it’s across the miles.
And I’m excited to see how God is going to work in this nation, too.
Latest posts by Tricia Goyer (see all)
- Adoption in Fiction . . . and in Life - June 17, 2015
- In a cathedral in Europe my daughter said I DO! - June 3, 2015
- The Brave Writer - May 20, 2015
Tricia the wedding pictures are beautiful you and your family are truly blessed what a beautiful church. You could write a book about this wedding and place.
I think I could!
Congratulations Tricia. I know how much you were looking forward to this day. A very beautiful wedding. May God Bless their marriage and future together. Much prayer has gone out for this couple .
Yes, much prayer! I know God has wonderful plans for them! Thanks for the congrats!
Congratulations to your daughter, her new husband and to you! Such a beautiful wedding. God Bless their marriage and ther future.
Thank you!
Beautiful!
Thank you!
Oh, be still, my romantic heart. What a memory to treasure.
Beautiful pictures of a beautiful day. Thank you for sharing with us. You are truly blessed.
Lovely! I love in neigboring Slovakia and I love Moravian people with their big hearts!
Yes! They do have big hearts!
What a gorgeous setting for a fairy tale wedding. Love those pictures! May Leslie and Honza be blessed.
It was gorgeous!
May God richly bless their marriage! You can see the joy and expectation on their faces. Beautiful.
Yes!
Beautiful!! Thanks for sharing.
Thank you!
Such a gorgeous, storybook wedding! Love the photo of you and Leslie together. What a treasure!
Deb, that photo was one of those random “let’s do a selfie” things … and I’m so glad that it turned out so well!
What a beautiful love story (all the way around – between the couple, between you and your daughter, between Christ and people). Thanks for sharing!
Thank you!
Tricia,
Your comments on the decline of Christianity in the Czech Republic make me realize more fully that the United States isn’t the only country that was once strongly Christian and is now in a spiritual decline. There is the Czech Republic, after all.
And China and Scotland and Russia and so many others.
But God is always at work, stirring the hearts of the saints to do his work. Revitalizing what once seemed on the brink of perishing.
If there’s hope for all those other countries, there’s hope for this one, too.
Thank you for sharing this post, which is about a wedding on the surface, but also about so much more.
Thank you, Carrie Lynn! I was so worried about missing my daughter, but God has shown me He has many people in great need of His truth and hope. It’s not about us, but about Him!
Thanks for sharing your pictures. Beautiful pictures and beautiful wedding. Especially loved the one of the two of them laughing!
My son gets married July 11th, so I get to experience our own wedding.
How beautiful! Your wonderful post reminded me of my son’s wedding in Poland nearly 4 years ago (especially the wedding chairs!) Thank goodness for Skype! Congratulations to you all. I believe you are so right about the plans of God. They are much bigger than we imagine and encompass ALL of us in every detail. Thanks for sharing.
What a BEAUTIFUL wedding and isn’t it funny how mommies “just know” some things?? I get a strong feeling that one of my sons in particular (I won’t name him or tell him because I’m not trying to feel out any self-fulfilling prophecies) will be overseas at some point (military, missions, etc) … I love also that you bathed her wedding in prayer since she was born! As a mommy who kissed several frogs, I am fervently praying for my children’s spouses as well and this blog gave me hope! 🙂
Congratulations to all! Our darling daughter was also married on May 23 of this year! I share in your joy and praise God for the mate He prepared for our daughter. Our kids are also working full time for the Lord!
As a mom to a beatuiful little girl I to have comtinued prayer since near her birth for her future husband. Thank you for sharing
May God continue to shine through Honza and Leslie and bless them all of their days!
Thank you for sharing your joy with your ‘extended family’ 🙂 There is no greater joy than to see your children walking with the Lord and the peace He provides a mother’s heart as her precious daughter now begins a new journey of life … Eccl 4:12
What a beautiful reminder that we always want God to be the author and perfect or of our faith because He is the one we can trust to direct our paths! Guess you will have to set a series of novels there to have an excuse to fly there for research.