Faith, hope, and love... New Hampshire style!

Whether by fate or fortune or free will, this blog - I like to think anyway - offers up something for everyone. In the past five years it's been an outlet for commentary, a chronicle of what it's like to run for office, a "cinema" of sorts for rolling out new movies, a quiet spot to meditate on God and His wondrous ways, a front line in the fight against evil in this world, a rallying stump for civil disobedience, a showcase of community theatre, and many other things. It has made national and even international headlines a time or two.

But you know what? None of those things thrill me nearly as much, as being able to share with you, Dear Readers, the all-too-rare and unique stories that make one stop and appreciate that in a world that has seemingly gone off the rails and full-tilt bonkers, there still exists a lot of good. And that is exactly what I'm having The Knight Shift celebrate today...

Through friends that it turns out we share, I recently found a new one in Kristel Reid Faris. She lives in New Hampshire and as of this month is the newly-minted wife of husband Keith! And Kristel and Keith had made arrangements for their wedding, but a fierce snowstorm, in addition to other things, caused them to have a smaller ceremony instead.

But really, it's much better if you read Kristel's account in her own words...

"Keith and I are both 33... and had both, on our own before ever meeting one another, submitted to the Lord's will last summer that we were single because that's what He wanted. Then... through a mutual friend... we met and a cosmic, supernatural, only-God-can-do-that kind of atttraction gripped us and we feel deeply in love.

"We had planned a big ceremony... complete with gowns and tuxedos and hors d'oeuvres, but that plan was interrupted when I became suddenly ill and nearly died of liver failure. It was an odd turn of events, but one that the Lord used, in His infinite wisdom, to reveal to my fiance Keith and me the true extent of our love for one another.. .and our complete and utter love for Him. Once I was released from the hospital, we sought out our pastor and pulled together the wedding. Our immediate families, as well as our friends in Portugal who were Skyped in, gathered in a friend's home and we committed our lives to one another."

And here is the video of Keith and Kristel Reid Faris getting married!

Kristel continues with more good news...

"I am also pleased to report that I am completely and fully healed...and all of my doctors (and there are nine of them) are in total shock at how fast I was healed. I should have been in the hospital for 2 - 6 weeks...but it was 7 days. And my liver should have taken 4 - 6 months to return to normal....but it was 4 weeks. :)

"Our gratitude to our loving, patient Father is something we offer to Him every day. We know that our meeting, instant love, survival through crisis, and marriage are all because of His strength, His mercy, His grace, and His love."

Keith and Kristel, that is an amazing story, and I am deeply honored to have been given permission to share it here so that others might find it, and be likewise encouraged by your faith and your love.

And congratulations! May God shine His blessings upon you now, and in all the years to come :-)

Categories: celebration, god, good news, keith and kristel reid faris, love, new hampshire, wedding