This little entry shall have to be a dedicatory one...my precious friend, one of the oldest and dearest of my heart, is engaged!

Congratulations, Aimee!

For those of you who don't know her, I have to share a bit of her story, for it is really incredible. God's providential hand was so evident, every step of the way, and I think it's all a beautiful example of trusting your life entirely to His sovereign guidance.

I've known Aimee for the past fourteen years, and as far back as I can remember, she's had a heart deeply called to missions. Not just any mission work, mind you. :) God has given her an incredible heart toward children, and she wanted to serve him in an orphanage.

For many years, while living here, (a very comfortable seven miles away from me), she has served her family with an awe-inspiring dedication and servant-heartedness. This rare spirit's beauty became even more evident, when her first nephew was seriously handicapped. I watched my friend love the little boy beyond the expression of words. He felt her love in every warm smile, careful spoonful of food, patting of the back, comforting embrace, and many more expressions of her loving concern for him.

I know that God always creates everyone uniquely and with special abilities for His use, but I must say, God did an incredible thing, when He created Aimee. She has a heart so big, it wasn't right for me and a few privileged others to be holding it here. It belonged to the whole world because it belonged to Jesus.

After many, many years of waiting on the Lord to show her His direction for her future, a young man came into her life, last fall. He was an American missionary serving in China, and she has spent the last three months staying in Tianjin with a missionary woman, to see if the Lord would lead her in accepting a call to China missions. "What was the mission?" you may ask...

...serving as a missionary in a Chinese orphanage for handicapped children...

I could not have orchestrated a better setting for her, had I tried with all my might. That's why it's so much better to let God have the reins of our lives; His ways are so much better. :)

Several days ago, the man serving as a full-time missionary there took Aimee out to the Great Wall of China, got down on his knees, and asked her to be his wife. After having the gorgeous ring placed on her finger and finding tears as they coursed her face, she accepted him.

...And so, my precious friend is returning from China to be married here, before returning to the Orient again as the new Mrs. Robert Moore. I'm thrilled for her...and a little selfishly grieved for my own loss, but I know God has great, great things in store for her, and I wouldn't dream of standing in the way of the wonders He would perform in the world. All He asks is yielded hearts...hers is ready, and so is mine. So with gratitude for God's faithfulness, I say "Blessed be the name of the Lord," and may He richly bless my sweet friend and kindred spirit, as she sets out upon this new journey with her Savior.

"What hath God wrought?" ...Wonders of His grace, and I'm so awed to see His hand at work. :)

God be with you, Aimee.