10.6.25

There is something about having your two younger sisters grow up to become best friends that makes you proud.

Two months ago, my sister Macy gave the Maid of Honor speech at Annie’s wedding. Listening to Macy share her heart for Annie and her husband, Andrew, made me very emotional. And as I scanned the room, I wasn’t the only one. Macy likened their love to two volumes, loud and quiet. It’s a great comparison – Andrew rolls pretty easy, and Annie is easy to get on a roll. Here is a small portion of Macy’s speech:

Much like Annie and Andrew, love can be loud, and love can be quiet.

Love is loud when you pack up your apartment and move to a new state to support one another’s goals. Love is loud when you gather 100 of your closest friends and family to celebrate you both starting your life together.

Love is quiet when you’re at your fourth grocery store finding the exact tomatoes Andrew needs for his marinara sauce. Love is quiet when you program your Alexa so that when you say ‘Alexa, Annie’s here’, it plays Here Comes the Sun by the Beatles.

Love is comprised of moments like these. My mom kept a book of loud and quiet moments of love when we were growing up. Here is an entry from March 2001 – On the 21^st, we put Macy and Annie in the same room. They looked so cute sitting in the doorway watching Mark put up the bed holding hands. Annie says, “Macy and I will be best friends, pinky promise.”

Thanks for keeping your promise, Annie.

The other day I read 1 John 4:19, “We love because Christ loved us first.” It made me think of Macy’s speech. We love in loud and quiet ways because we experience God’s love in loud and quiet ways. God’s love is loud when you move to New Jersey and meet a girl you love so much you spend half your life savings on a ring. Love is loud when God opens career opportunities in ways you never imagined. Love is quiet when God stills your racing mind so you can get a good night’s sleep. Love is quiet when a friend sits to pray with you. And love is quiet when God provides the perfect cinnamon roll to go with your coffee on a Saturday morning after a long week.

The God who hung the stars is also the one who counts your steps. His love doesn’t always shout; sometimes it hums softly – in peace that steadies your heart, in strength that finds you when you’re worn-out, and in wisdom that shows up just in time. This quiet love just takes an eye to see or an ear to hear.

We love because He first loved us — loudly on the cross, quietly every day since. God, help me not to miss it.