Ed and I  celebrated our 40th wedding anniversary on July 24th.  I was very excited and happy to be celebrating our anniversary and I was thanking God for the blessing of 40 years together.  I woke up early on the day of our anniversary and Ed was still sleeping so I reached for my phone to look at the daily verse for the day.  As I reaching for my phone I thought to myself wouldn't it be cool if the verse for the day had something to do with our marriage.   I was expecting a verse associated with love such as the verse from I Corinthians 13: 4 about love being patient and love being kind but God gave me a verse for our anniversary day that was better than what I was expecting.  The verse for the day on our 40th wedding anniversary was Isaiah 40:31 "But those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength.  They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary and they will walk and not be faint".

For those of you who don't know, Isaiah 40:31 is the verse that Ed and I chose as the Bible Verse for Soaring Wings Ministries.  We chose this verse for Soaring Wings Ministries years ago because it speaks of hope and the strength that is given to everyone whose hope is in the Lord.    I truly never expected to see this verse as my verse for the day on our 40th wedding anniversary but it was the perfect anniversary gift from God.   It gave me encouragement, strength, hope and most importantly, confirmation,  to see this verse.  It reassured me that Ed and I are on the right path with Soaring Wings Ministries and most importantly that God is on this journey with us.    It also made me reflect back on the 40 years of our marriage and all that we have experienced together.   40 years of marriage, with God being the center of our marriage, has brought us to this time of serving God in Colorado with Soaring Wings Ministries.    As I  read Isaiah 40:31  on my phone I felt as if God was saying to Ed and I,  "Your doing good.  Your on the right path.  Keep going.  I am with you."  What a blessing it was to receive such confirmation and encouragement from God!  

Quite often God's guidance and blessing in our lives is not recognized as such but rather is reduced to mere coincidence.   I do not believe that reading Isaiah 40:31 on our 40th wedding anniversary day was anything less than God reaching down from heaven to guide me, bless me, and encourage me.  It was not a coincidence.....it was a blessing.....a very special blessing from God on our 40th wedding anniversary.  

God is involved in each one of our lives and He actively blesses and guides each one of us.  I hope that those of you who are reading this blog will not miss out on sweet and precious relationship with God by reducing His blessings and guidance to mere coincidences.  Our God in heaven is actively involved in our lives.  To see this involvement you first need to recognize Him as your Lord and Savior and then look for Him each day as you both journey through life together.  

Anita Rennells
Soaring Wings Ministries
499 Trinity Lane
​Wellington, Colorado