PART 14 ~ THE MEMOIRS OF A BRIDE: A Prophetic Picture of The Bride of Christ Getting Ready

PART 14 ~ The Phone call to the Priest , A Choral Concert Called “Sleeper’s Awake”  and Our First Meeting with the Priest

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“Then the kingdom of heaven will be comparable to ten virgins, who took their lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom. “Five of them were foolish, and five were prudent. “For when the foolish took their lamps, they took no oil with them, but the prudent took oil in flasks along with their lamps. “Now while the bridegroom was delaying, they all got drowsy and began to sleep. “But at midnight there was a shout, ‘Behold, the bridegroom! Come out to meet him.’ “Then all those virgins rose and trimmed their lamps. “The foolish said to the prudent, ‘Give us some of your oil, for our lamps are going out.’ “But the prudent answered, ‘No, there will not be enough for us and you too; go instead to the dealers and buy some for yourselves.’ “And while they were going away to make the purchase, the bridegroom came, and those who were ready went in with him to the wedding feast; and the door was shut. “Later the other virgins also came, saying, ‘Lord, lord, open up for us.’ “But he answered, ‘Truly I say to you, I do not know you.’ “Be on the alert then, for you do not know the day nor the hour.” ~ (Matthew 25:1-13)

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PEGGY CONTINUES HER TESTIMONY:

HALLELUJAH! Jim made that long-awaited call to his local Parish. The other Priest that he was trying to contact had actually had his last association before retirement at a relatively far away Parish, so this was much more convenient! We just trusted the Lord that He would lead us to the proper man to officiate, and that he would be a Pro-Life person. That was so very important to Jim and also important to me.

Well, we had the main Priest in the Parish, Father Bill, assigned to us. He called us back and was very kind and accommodating! We also learned that he was very much on board with the Pro-Life movement, so we were happy. He was very busy with Christmas activities at the Parish, and then was planning on going on a retreat. He graciously promised to meet with us on January 6, 2016. We were thinking we should get things done for a December 31, 2015 Wedding, since Karin had seen that date back in August. However, we were glad it didn’t work out that way. There just wouldn’t be enough time for preparations on the parts of both us and the Priest, even though a very small number of guests were planned.

I suddenly realized the truth of the matter. The Baptism at BELLS Lake brought the BELLS that Karin saw ringing on December 31, 2016. Now I understood. The BELLS were ringing out 2015 and ringing in 2016 for a Wedding Date. It all made sense. The BELLS were ringing in the Spirit in preparation by a deadline date of December 31, 2016. It made total sense, and we felt great about that word of Prophecy!

We had time to enjoy the Christmas Season without having to start making plans, but in a way, we definitely were happily mentally preparing to a certain extent. One Christmas event that I was invited to attend was quite an interesting surprise, especially because I had no prior information about it other than it was to be a Christmas Choral Concert at a nearby church. Well, I was blown away by its singular focus and the appropriateness to the end times that we are now experiencing!

 

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Side Note: I just couldn’t resist making a post on theBelieveActs2 Blog about it when I returned home that evening. Here it is:

“This is very interesting because it is so appropriate to the times that we’re in. I went to a Choral Concert tonight. All I knew about it was that they were performing a J.S. Bach Cantata (Bach lived 1685-1750). WELL, I was so surprised to see that the Cantata was “Sleeper’s Awake.” The text used in the Choruses and Solos was based on

MATTHEW 25:1-13. That Scripture is none other than the parable of the 10 Virgins…… 5 Wise and 5 Foolish! {NOTE- This is about the Preparation of the Body of Christ for Jesus, the Returning Bridegroom!}

It started “Wake, awake, for night is flying, The watchmen on the heights are crying.” {Oh, YES, all over the BelievActs2 posts of at least 140 dreams and visions; At Z3news; On Bette Stevens’ site; In the hearts of countless true Believers that are seeking the Lord daily, etc.}

A final most glorious chorus sang these words in BEAUTIFUL harmony (it felt like HEAVEN):
“Now let all the heavens adore you, And saints and angels sing before you. The harps and cymbals all unite. Of one pearl each shining portal, Where, dwelling with the choir immortal, We gather round your dazzling light.
No eye has seen, no ear has yet been trained to hear. What joy is ours! Crescendos rise; your halls resound; Hosannas blend in cosmic sound.”

On the cover of the program was a copy of the painting, “The Wise and Foolish Virgins” by a German artist, done in 1813.”

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Matthew Chapter 24 (known as “The Olivet Discourse,” because Jesus delivered these words on “The Mount of Olives”) are the words of Jesus to His Disciples about the End Times that we are in today. Chapter 25 includes a series of Parables to illustrate some End Times concepts. “The Parable of the Ten Virgins” is a teaching about the importance of the Bride of Christ to prepare herself. I was fascinated to realize that I was in the midst of preparing for two Bridegrooms: Jim, my earthly bridegroom, and also Jesus, my Heavenly Bridegroom. Also note that Jesus classifies the virgins into just two categories:

Wise and Foolish. There is no “in between.” If you are not in the “Wise” category, you automatically default to “Foolish.” One thing was certain. I was very determined to be among the WISE group! I prayed that as many human beings as possible would be in that group also!

Please see this link (below) to the BelieveActs2 Blog Post by Linda Clay for additional clarity on the Parable of the Ten Virgins (Matthew 25:1-13):

12-4-15: A SOBERING Thought About the Parable of the Ten Virgins | believeacts2’s Blog
https://believeacts2blog.wordpress.com/2015/12/04/12-4-15-a-sobering-thought-about-the-parable-of-the-ten-virgins/

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Side Note: Okay everyone, the moment that I started typing this paragraph, the beautiful lavender light started appearing on the screen. It is still here. It even started going very near the actual Scripture address and stayed there for a few seconds. We need to PAY ATTENTION!]

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January 6, 2016, the date for our first meeting with the Priest came around soon enough. Wow, I wondered for a few years if this would ever happen, but here it was! I took my pen and notebook along to make sure I made note of instructions accurately.

It was a truly beautiful church setting and church building. We went into the lobby of the office and waited for Father Bill. I had never seen or met him before, but trusted that the Lord was going to provide the right person for us.

We both noticed a picture on the wall that was really one of the most thought-provoking pictures I had ever seen. It was a picture of Jesus on the Cross looking down on masses and masses of people. The people were of all ages, sizes, shapes, and nationalities. They were dressed in such a variety of ways, including their work/career attire. Some were near the Cross, and some were far away. Some had their backs to the Cross. Each person in the masses was detailed unbelievably. It illustrated a huge range of attitudes toward “The King of Kings and Lord of Lords.” I really would like to go back and find the name of the painter. It was one of the most moving paintings I’ve ever seen!

Finally Father Bill appeared in the doorway. As I mentioned before, I had never seen him before, so I didn’t know what to expect, but just trusted God. My first impression was a very good one! That impression continued through the almost 2 hour meeting. Well before that time there was absolutely no question in my mind that he was definitely God’s choice for us! He took his time with us and was very kind and accommodating.

The requirements were that these items be brought in for the next meeting:

1.) Infant Baptismal Certificates for both of us. (I really wanted to bring in the picture of my August Full Immersion Baptism, but I stopped myself)
2.) Divorce Decree and Annulment Certificate for me.
3.) Marriage License
4.) Our Selected Readings (based on the Bible) for the Ceremony
5.) Full Names and Addresses of the Best Man and Matron of Honor
6.) F.O.C.C.U.S. Survey to identify possible weak areas in a marriage.
(I’ll tell you what that stands for later.)

We knew that Catholic Churches required “Pre-Cana” training. That typically lasted one full year. There were also three meetings required with the Priest. Praise the Lord that Father Bill waived that year training! I believe that “Pre-Cana” would be wonderful training for younger people but we were age 60 and 80-plus! I think I would have totally given up if he asked for that. After all, it was over 19 years since the first kiss! Thank-you, Jesus, for your grace!

But He said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for My power is perfected in weakness.” (2 Corinthians 12:9)

Actually, I was pleased that the Catholic Church took the Sacrament of Marriage very seriously. They also called it a Marriage Covenant, which I loved. They tried their best to train aspiring couples ahead of time so that divorce could be prevented. I thought that was wonderful. My counseling in the Protestant church regarding the previous marriage consisted of a quick 30 minutes with nothing of import covered at all. I had even heard that some ministers just went ahead and consented to perform ceremonies for people because “they’d just do it anyway.” That didn’t seem right to me. It seemed like couples should be led by those with experience rather than the other way around.

Jim made a special request that we be married in the little chapel off of the lobby of the Church. He felt that it would be much more intimate for a group of 12 guests (plus the two of us, the Priest, and the photographer). No one had ever had a wedding in there previously, but Father Bill was flexible enough to readily agree to it!

The next thing was the setting of the wedding date. It was established that the month of January would just be too soon to complete preparations. Father Bill looked at the month of February. Since Jim and I always had an affinity to the number 21 (which I will go into detail about in another Part), Jim asked what the 21st of February looked like.

Father Bill said,”absolutely better than anything else!” It fell on a Sunday, and he didn’t have obligations at 5p.m. in the evening on that date. Also, there would be nothing going on in the chapel and church at that time. We both loved “the 21st,” and I absolutely loved “Sunday” for old times sake. That had been my favorite day for many years because of getting to “fellowship” and worship at church.

“I was glad when they said unto me, Let us go into the house of the LORD.” ~ (Psalm 122:1)

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Side Note: Since January of 2014, however, I changed my “Day of Rest” (Sabbath) to coincide with God’s Hebraic Calendar which meant Friday sundown to Saturday sundown. (It starts at sundown, symbolizing that we should be moving from darkness to light).

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Therefore, the date was finally set for Sunday, February 21, 2016 (just about 50 full years since I wrote P.A.C. and P.A.D.-my initials- in Jim’s “Speed Reading Class” at age 11)!

This account would not be complete without an explanation of the significance of the number “21” to us, but I will leave that for another “Part.” The wedding rehearsal was set for Saturday, the day before at 2p.m. Everything was sounding very good!

Going back to one more item on the list of things to bring to the next meeting with Father Bill- somewhere in the midst of explaining this list, Father Bill asked us both to write a paragraph about why we love each other! Tears filled my eyes. I had never heard of anything so touching (and I had played the organ-including all the rehearsals- for more weddings than I could ever count in both Protestant and Catholic Churches). I knew all of the basic aspects that happened at these weddings.

Jim and I both loved to write, and we definitely would have no problem with this unique assignment. I just knew that God continued to be at work in our plans! As we left, I felt like I had just met a new friend in Father Bill. I expressed to him that there was no question in my mind that he was God’s perfect choice to guide our wedding preparations and to perform our actual Sacred Ceremony before God.

 

“As it is written, ‘How beautiful are the feet of them that preach the gospel of peace, and bring glad tidings of good things! ‘ ” ~ (Romans 10:15)

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