Saturday was the rehearsal dinner and a day to work out all of the kinks. We spent the morning walking through the ceremony and all the events that would surround the wedding and when dinner rolled around, it was time to celebrate. We all took turns toasting Jessica and roasting Warren and it was just a fun time to watch all of these people come together for this couple. I’m sure it was meaningful for the two of them to look around and see the support they had. I don’t think their smiles could’ve been any bigger (at least not until the next day…).
Evan is one of Warren’s friends from college and so he had a little more dirt on him than most of us. It was fun to just get to know Evan and his wife and hear a little about their lives in Georgia. Judging from some of the stories I heard, he seems to be one of the most “successful” people in the wedding (not hard to do with a bunch of missionaries), but it was fun to hear his heart on finances and how God has blessed them. He and his wife laid a foundation of supporting others early on with little, and have now multiplied that as the income has multiplied. I felt like asking for a little myself, but I figured I’d let him have the weekend to celebrate.
One of the coolest things I liked about Evan was even though he may have been one of the most successful guys there, he worked his tail off to serve us. When we were starting our practice for the worship set, we would just mention a need, and he would be right back with the answer. It was really a blessing to me for him to be there because things just got done without having to beg for anything.
At the rehearsal dinner, Evan was one of the first non-World Racers to give a toast and it was nice to hear his perspective on this good friend of mine. Meeting guys like Evan and a few of the others made me think about bubbles. How often are we in bubbles? We think that we know what’s best, who’s best, where we need to go, and when we need to get there. But in reality, there’s a huge world out there.
My “world” isn’t Alabama or Dallas or Arizona or the Philippines. It’s so much bigger than any of those. And better yet, I can build a God-centered, Gospel-focused community wherever I am. We get so locked down in our bubbles because we think we know something. We’re really just confining ourselves to something because it’s what we know. I’m one of those rare guys that loves and craves the unknown. I don’t think I’m rare because I love it, actually, I think I’d be a lot more normal if more just tried it. Because it’s one of the most exciting things. One of the things I love the most is the people. There are incredible people all over the world. It’s hard to meet them in bubbles…
