Tomorrow our oldest grandchild, Allie Grace Greenhaw, will walk down the aisle of a church in a beautiful white dress wearing a dazzling smile as she looks at her groom waiting beside the preacher while several dozen family members and close friends watch. From late afternoon on November 15, 2000, when I stood outside the delivery room door and heard her first cry, she has been a blessing and a joy in our lives. And tomorrow we will celebrate this happy occasion with her. She and Zechariah Freeborn met last summer (after some matchmaking by his sister), and the attraction they felt was almost instant. The first time we saw them together we knew they were a perfect match.
I've been scrolling through photos and reflecting.
At brunch with Steve and me, the day before her 21st birthday. She looks so grown up!
Christmas of 2020.
Allie's high school graduation.
Allie's last time to attend Cousins Camp was in the summer of 2018. She was such a leader in that setting. All the younger ones looked up to her.
Allie flew with her momma to visit us in Ecuador when she was only three years old. I wish I had a photo of how grown up she was when she got off the plane with her pint-size backpack. I don't have a photo of that, but here's one of the two of us making her birthday cake in my Ecuador kitchen. Oh my goodness, the memories are absolutely flooding my mind!
EVERY grandchild is an amazing gift from God, but there's just something about that FIRST grandchild that opens up your heart in ways you've never felt before. I could spend days talking about Allie, but for the next few moments, I want to share my prayer for her as she starts her new life as a married woman tomorrow.
"Dear Father, I thank you so much for giving life to Allie and for placing her in our family. I thank you for her intelligence and beauty but even more for her heart for You and Your Word. I praise You for drawing her to You and for her salvation at a young age. Oh, how I thank you for sparing her from paralysis when she fell in the climbing accident and for sparing her life in the car wreck. I thank you for healing her back and making her strong again.
I thank You for surrounding her with so many people who have loved her since her birth, for the ones who have fed her, clothed her, and taught her. I thank you for protecting her from boys or men who were not right for her and for leading her very clearly to Zechariah. I pray very earnestly for Zechariah as he takes on the role of spiritual leader for this young family. Give him grace and wisdom, patience, gentleness, and kindness as he adjusts to life with Allie. Please direct him to focus on YOU first, then on Allie before himself.
Dear Lord, thank you for giving her resilience through many changes in her life, and please use that to strengthen her in these changes and challenges that are about to begin. Please direct her to focus on YOU first, then on Zechariah before herself.
Father, please give them the strength to work hard and stretch their dollars. Help them make good decisions, but when a decision proves to be wrong, give them the courage to fix it quickly and without blame.
Make their love grow. Give them many years of happiness together. Let them know how good it feels to laugh and to be surrounded by people who wish them well and who are ready to help whenever they are needed.
Father, help me to remember that she has new priorities now and teach me to respect them.
Father, please bless this marriage and allow it to be a powerful witness of Your love.
In Jesus' name,
Amen"
Any of you who are reading, would you please join me in praying for Allie and Zechariah?
Numbers 6:24-26 -- "The Lord bless you and keep you; the Lord make his face shine on you
and be gracious to you; the Lord turn his face toward you and give you peace.”
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