A little glass flask sits on my desk. It holds exactly 34 pearls (glass, not actual pearls). Throughout the pastoral era of my 35 years in vocational ministry I’ve had the joy of officiating 17 weddings. Emily, my first supervisee at the church I worked for, was my first official wedding. Three weddings for my kids (three best days of my life with them). Two nieces. And bunches of young friends either on staff with me or in ministries I supervised. Seventeen weddings. That makes 34 pearls.

Day after tomorrow I will add another two pearls to my flask. Cade and Maddie will become #35 and #36. My first “GFM alum” wedding. I plan to talk about pearls. I’ll have my little flask in hand. Pearls are valuable (even ones made of glass). These two precious lives get forged over time, beautified layer-by-thin-layer. Then one day they get found! Getting found is what it’ all about. Your worth discovered by another! Discovered like no one else could!

44 “The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field. When a man found it, he hid it again, and then in his joy went and sold all he had and bought that field. 45 “Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant looking for fine pearls. 46 When he found one of great value, he went away and sold everything he had and bought it.” -Matthew 13

I hope you are experiencing the sense of treasure and discovery that should naturally accompany your faith. The root metaphor applies not first of all to marriage, but to the amazement of finding the kingdom. My wish is that everyone who stumbles onto Jesus could realize the worth of what he offers. And in finding it, have your values completely turned around. In my own faith journey I struggle constantly with placing value in things that really aren’t that precious. I get weary from finding trinkets in shallow creek-beds forgetting that pearls are lodged deep in the slimy bellies of shellfish that have to be dived deeply for!

Pray for Cade and Maddie and for the Zumpfe and Blum families. Pray for great weather. Pray for special time and special words to flow over the next two days. Pray for a terrific start to their marriage. May their wedding be a symbol to all of how precious we are to God, how willing he is to leave the 99 and search for us (even when we aren’t searching for him). May these two pearl-o-files remind everyone there of how valuable finding the kingdom is! Thanks for your prayers!

Oh, where is the wedding? Lied Lodge at Arbor Day Farm in Nebraska City. And a forecast of 93 degrees for Saturday at 5:00pm! Can we pray that down a little?