“Then I heard a holy one speaking, and another holy one said to him, ‘How long will it take for the vision to be fulfilled…?’” Daniel 8:13 (NIV)
They say (or at least I have heard it said) that planning a wedding is one of the most stressful things a person can do. For me, I got to add to the stress of planning my wedding in the time of the Coronavirus.
I can’t tell you how many times I sat in the Worship Center throughout my childhood hearing a message reminding me of the importance of God’s timing, and his reasoning behind it. The most recent time I needed that reminder was when I found myself asking God WHY did my wedding have to land in the time of the Coronavirus?
My now-husband proposed in November of last year when I was still working as a news anchor in Yuma, Arizona. We had known each other for 10 years, and by that time, I also found myself asking God, “How much longer do I have to wait for that proposal?!” At the end of 2019, wedding planning began and we had picked out a venue and set a date. Then came the “times of uncertainty.” Our wedding venue told us our original date would not be possible and my heart sunk. Still having some hope left in me, we set a new date and sent out our invitations, only to be told a day after that our venue would not be able to accommodate that date either. I was broken. All that waiting…all that praying…WHY?!
We have been married for two months now, and I can attest to the saying that hindsight is 20/20. I have since learned that “why?” is a question that won’t get you far in your walk with Christ. I learned that it’s not about why things don’t go your way, but how long it takes you to see the reasoning behind God’s plan. I now see how God blessed me in my time of being a “Covid bride.” August 20th was a date I had wanted to get married on no matter what. So when our venue had turned us down for the second time, we only had a month to re-plan everything! My mom stepped up to help me plan the wedding of my dreams — in just those four weeks! My now husband made sure there was time to focus on growing in preparation for our union, and my dad spent every day after work in order to create decor pieces I had asked for. A small crowd of friends and family stood by our side on August 20, 2020, as God’s reasoning and timing came to fruition.
In Daniel 8:13, we learn about the idea of having a faith that runs on active, not passive perseverance. In this case, Daniel was not asking “why,” but “how long?” Daniel is looking ahead to chase the eternal kingdom of God, not question the events that take place leading up to the final days of this earthly, temporary kingdom. I encourage you friends, when tempted to ask God “why,” have faith in the duration of his promises, not the escape of this fleeting “sandcastle kingdom.”
Arianna Quiroz
Digital Content Producer