I Surrender - Amy Schisler

Our daughter’s wedding is less than two weeks away, ten days to be exact! To say that planning a wedding during COVID is stressful doesn’t begin to come close to what it’s actually like. It seems like there’s a new snag to deal with every day. However, our family has come to realize that for every bad thing that comes up, something good outweighs and outshines it. And each time I become frustrated and want to scream, Ken reminds me that Rebecca’s wedding day will be a beautiful celebration of love no matter what.

No matter what.

That’s a phrase I keep repeating to myself. No matter what we face, no matter what obstacles or stumbling blocks we hurdle, no matter who is there or not there, our daughter and the love of her life are getting married in a union blessed by God. And that’s really all that counts, isn’t it? They are being married, and God is involved. All of these snags, all of these inconveniences, all of these worries and fears, perhaps they are God’s way of reminding me to stop trying to be in control, that He is involved, that He has this under control, that all I need is to surrender to Him.

I need to surrender and to remember that from the day they met, God has been involved.

Rebecca loves to tell us the story about a friend, who during a particularly lonely time in Rebecca’s freshman year of college, encouraged her to say a daily prayer to St. Anthony. No, not that prayer – the one we desperately invoke every time we lose something. The prayer her friend directed her to is Be Satisfied With Me and is quite the lengthy prayer! Regardless of the length, Rebecca faithfully began praying every day that, through the intercession of St. Anthony, she would find the man that God had created just for her. After about a month of praying, Rebecca met a young man, the young man. And guess what his name is? Anthony.

As we get closer to the wedding, as things begin to take shape, and as we still deal with so much uncertainty, I continue to remind myself that it’s all going to work out. God has this. All of the little things I’m worrying about, all of the things that are out of my control, He is handling. From the guest list to the safety of the guests, from the timing of events to the weather, He is taking of care of everything. As long as I have faith and continue doing my part, God will take care of the rest. Our dear friend, George, told me this morning, “But as for you, be strong and do not slack off, for there shall be a reward for what you do” (2 Chronicles 15:7). Be strong and do not slack off. As I read the words, I took a deep breath and allowed myself to feel the peace that only comes with surrender.

A couple weeks ago, my wonderful friend and Bible study companion, Millie, sent me this prayer. She said she was thinking of me, and this prayer arrived in her inbox. She took it as a sign that I needed to hear it, needed to pray it. My favorite line is, “Teach us to wrest treasures from anxiety.” Wow. That was just what I needed to hear (and pray). Another moment of surrender.

I thank God for friends like Millie and George and so many others who remind me, as Ken does, that God has this. He brought Rebecca and Anthony together. He is leading them to this day. He will guide them throughout life. And He will work all of this for the good. All I need to do is give up, let go, and let God.

“And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose” (Romans 8:28).

And so I vow, that over the next ten days, I will surrender. I will work with God for the good. And I will remember that He has this.

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Amy Schisler is an award-winning author of both children’s books and sweet, faith-filled romance novels for readers of all ages. She lives with her husband and three daughters on the Eastern Shore of Maryland. Her books, Picture Me, Whispering Vines, and Island of Miracles are all recipients of Illumination Awards, placing them among the top inspirational fiction books of 2015, 2016, and 2017. Whispering Vines was awarded the 2017 LYRA Award for the best romance of 2016. Island of Miracles has outsold all of Amy’s other books worldwide and ranked as high as 600 on Amazon. Her follow up, Island of Promise is a reader favorite. Amy’s children’s book is The Greatest Gift. The suspense novel, Summer’s Squall, and all of Amy’s books, can be found online and in stores. Her latest novel, Island of Promise, was recently awarded First Prize by the Oklahoma Romance Writer’s Association as the best Inspirational Romance of 2018 and was awarded a Gold Medal in the Independent Publisher Book Awards 2019 for Inspirational Fiction. It is the 2019 winner for Best Inspirational Fiction in the RWA Golden Quill Contest, Best Romance in the American Book Awards, and a finalist for the Eric Hoffer Award of Fiction. Amy’s 2019 work, The Devil’s Fortune, a finalist in the Writer’s Digest Self-Publishing Awards and winner of an Illumination Award, is based, in part, on Amy’s family history. The third book of Amy’s Chincoteague Island Trilogy, Island of Hope, was released in August of 2019.