Dr. Gushee and I are good friends, now :)

Addendum to "Life is good":

God is good.


I went to Dr. Gushee's talk tonight, and it was an extension of love straight from God. Although Gushee had a whole handout of notes about the history of the decline in sucessful marriages, he decided to speak from the gut. And the way he approached it was to address all of us as though he were speaking to his 20-year-old daughter, Holly, who is seriously considering marriage. He walked us through things he'd like her/us to know, and it was done in a really thoughtful, helpful way.

When he started introducing his lecture as a conversation with his daughter, I actually had to wipe a couple tears away. If you read my last post, you'll know that I've been missing my dad a lot today and being sad that I can't talk to him about exactly these sorts of things. Dr. Gushee did that for me tonight, and it was just such a good fit for what I needed: wise, fatherly advice on preparing for life with someone and what things to think about.

Since he and I had already been introduced, it just made it all more significant, and I wanted to thank him for approaching in it that way. But after the talk, I was so bummed that I didn't have any money on me to purchase a book for him to sign. That's when God prompted me to talk to Andy afterwards. I was kind of hoping Andy would have money to loan me when I approached him, but when it came up, he whipped out his credit card and told me to go ask if they took credit. Wow. And what's more, Andy wouldn't let me pay him back. (Again, God was taking care of me!)

So when I finally did approach Dr. Gushee, he was pleased to see me again, and I told him that I appreciated his talk and how I had lost my dad three years ago, so it meant a lot for him to do it that way. He was a bit startled, and then gave me a hug, saying that he prayed for the right approach for the lecture. What he wrote in my book was wonderful, too. :)

So yes. All I can say in response is...


Praise God from whom all blessings flow!
Praise Him, all creatures here below!
Praise Him above, ye heavenly hosts!
Praise Father, Son,
and Holy Ghost.
AMEN.