Beautiful
Vernal Falls
And
a Beautiful Bride
I dream a beautiful dream and sit in wonder as I remember. I
see myself less than two years ago, as I stood in the
green summer grass of my mother’s backyard in a small
Pennsylvania town. Several
dozen people have gathered for an event that only God,
in His wisdom and grace, could have arranged. The
weather is ideal, with sunny skies, comfortable temperature,
and a gentle breeze on a perfect July day. I
wait moment by moment for the climactic, nearly unbelievable,
event that will change my life forever. I
wait to see the most lovely woman I’ve ever known—a woman
who was the answer to prayers too numerous to count,
extending over my lifetime.
This lovely woman’s name is Monica. I
had prayed for the woman of my dreams since my teenage
years, aware that she would be unique in many ways. I
asked God for a woman who would love Him with all of
her heart, a sincere and godly woman of character. I
also wanted a woman who would be able genuinely to love
me, unworthy as I am. I
yearned for a pure and devoted woman whose entire life
was committed to Jesus Christ the Lord and whose life
was founded on God’s Word. I
had found such a woman, after countless years of incessant
prayers.
Our meeting had been incredible and nearly miraculous. Monica
wanted to serve the Lord in her life and chose to take
an elementary Bible course by email through the internet. The
grader for her completed lessons happened to be Rhonda,
a sister in the Lord I knew from South Carolina. This
sister informed me of Monica’s interest in the Lord and
then her coming to Christ. I
asked if I could encourage her in some way by writing
to her. With
Monica’s permission, I did write and she wrote back. This
initial correspondence began a spiritual relationship
that eventually became more than that. First,
through email, then through regular letters and tapes,
then through short telephone visits, and then by means
of long telephone conversations, we came to know each
other more and more.
I recall walking at night, under the starry sky, with
the moon glowing above, and lifting my heart to God my
Heavenly Father about Monica, this dear woman I was coming
to know. I
told the Lord that I didn’t know what all of this meant
or how it would proceed, but I did ask that His will
would be done. I
asked that if it was His will that this be the woman
of my dreams and prayers, He would make this known to
us in His own time and in His own way. I
knew that Monica—whom I came to know as “Moni”—was much
younger than I was and was an entirely different culture,
language, and country—but this didn’t seem greatly to
affect our relationship at all. God
could work in all of this to His own glory if He so desired.
About one year later, I flew to Lima, Peru, where Monica
had been born and continued to live. I
had the privilege of meeting her parents, relatives,
friends, and grandmother—who had raised her. My
ten days there convinced me that Moni indeed was a lovely
and unique woman of God. Our
love grew. A
half year later, Moni visited Texas for two weeks and
during this time we deepened our relationship and planned
our future together.
We had no idea how it would be possible for this love
to come to fulfillment in light of the practical issues
of entering the United States and living here, legally. Moni
chose to apply for a Diversity Visa, although this desired
visa was very difficult to obtain. The
year that Moni applied for it, more than 10 million other
people in the world also sought to obtain it, but the
government only issues 55,000 of these privileged documents. This
means that only one in 200 would be able to receive such
a visa. Months
went by, with much uncertainty and prayers, but finally,
through the amazing grace of God, Moni learned the good
news that she had been chosen to receive this visa. She
could now freely enter this country with no limitations!
That fall, Moni my love, was able to fly to the United
States. I
recall meeting this lovely woman at the airport, aware
that this was the answer to so many of our mutual hopes
and prayers. Over
the following years, we faced many challenges—financial,
employment, transportation, lack of time, lack of housing,
and so much more. Moni
located a living place near where I lived which enabled
us to regularly see each other and continue our plans. Month
by month, our love deepened and our plans were working
out, with the help of the Lord. Finally,
after flying to Pennsylvania where I grew up, the special
day of our marriage had arrived, and I anticipated the
event that I had prayed for over the many years since
I was a sensitive, wistful, and idealistic youth. Moni
and I would soon be united by the Lord and become one
in His sight.
My mind returns to years earlier—in fact, some thirty-nine
years. I
was traveling across the breadth of this land, from the
Atlantic to the Pacific, from Canada to Mexico. I
had planned this journey for a year, a journey that few
have ever taken. For
several months I traveled by car to most of the states,
with several objectives. I
wanted to see this remarkable country personally and
visit the leading scenic attractions, including most
of the national parks and state capitals. I
wanted to explore where the Lord might want me to locate
in the future after my education was completed. I
wanted to discover where God might want me to serve Him
and what He would want me to do. And,
along with these challenging goals, deep in my heart,
I had asked that God would lead me—perhaps in some mysterious
but unfailing way—to the woman he had been preparing
for me.
I traveled from one place to another. From
the pounding surf of the great Atlantic, to the Shenandoah
region of Virginia, the tall Green Mountains of Vermont,
the extensive forests of Maine, the verdant farmlands
of Ontario, and the fertile Midwestern plains. I
proceeded westward to the snow-covered Rocky Mountains,
the vast western ranchlands, the mighty Pacific Ocean,
the timberlands of the Cascade Range, and the barren
deserts of Utah, Nevada, and Arizona. Onward
I roamed, mile after mile, on this geographical odyssey
and spiritual quest.
Finally I arrived at the chief destination that had
long been in my heart since I had visited the place years
earlier. It
was the most inspiring point in all of my travels. I
refer to Yosemite National Park, in east-central California. I
anticipated this place ever since leaving Pennsylvania
months earlier—and now I was approaching this dream. The
scenes were all so significant—the Upper and Lower Yosemite
Falls, Bridal Veil Falls, Yosemite River, El Capitan,
and Dome of the Rock. All
of it left me speechless. All
of it was the result of prayer and all of it inspired
praise to the God who created it according to His wise
design and plan.
The one location that touched me deeply, more than any
other, was a particular waterfall, high in the park interior,
that required a hike through the forest. With
increasing anticipation, I parked my car and thought
of the place I would soon visit. Step
by step I walked on the trail, eager to see what I had
seen years before. The
maples and conifers surrounded me as I continued on the
trail. Finally,
after my prayerful trek, I sighted the goal—beautiful
Vernal Falls. I
came to the rustic, wooden bridge that crossed the stream
at the foot of the towering falls. With
deep emotion, with tears streaming down my cheeks, I
gazed at this vista of my dreams. The
view was deeply touching and the hour was holy.
I have always been sentimental in nature and this moment
I was lost in my dreams, my hopes, and my prayers. It
was a holy rendezvous, a place where I met God in prayer,
a place where I lifted my heart and pleaded—as I often
had in the past—that He would grant me the woman of my
dreams, the woman of His own choosing. I
lingered there for a long time, lost in the scent of
the evergreens, in the freshness of the breeze, the sight
of the towering hills, and in the sound of the falling
water and rushing stream beneath the bridge. God
was there, though I know that He is everywhere. But
here was a place to meet Him in a special way, a way
that stimulated love and brought faith in His promises
to care for and provide for me, His own child. It
was a place to inspire hope in God’s providence and inscrutable
plans for the future. I
prayed that the Lord would give me a wife, according
to His will, His plan, and in His time. Little
did I know at that time that many years—perhaps half
of my life—would pass by before He would answer my prayers
with this gift of a wife.
And now, many years later, in the community of my birth,
the time would soon arrive. I
paced the grass as I awaited the appearance of my bride,
the woman of my dreams. Though
God waited many long and painful years to answer my prayers,
I know that He had His own reasons for the delay. Monica
indeed was a lovely woman—one more lovely than I could
express, one sweeter than I could imagine. She
confided to me that I was the man of her dreams, even
as she was of mine. By
this time, we had known each other for five years, and
we wanted to keep ourselves pure, true, and faithful
to each other until this time of fulfillment. We
first kissed each other on our wedding day! This
was the most important and significant event of my life,
second only to the time of my coming to Christ for His
salvation to be spiritually born of God. And
now it had finally arrived!
The Christian songs of love, fidelity and commitment
filled my ears. The
gathered people arose. And,
at long last, my lovely Monica, clothed in purest white,
with long brown hair, and with the sweetest smile, appeared
at the head of the stairs. Step
by step, she gracefully, slowly descended and approached
me. I held
out my hand and she did the same. Our
hands joined as the heavenly words were wafted through
the air. I
gazed into her eyes—beautiful eyes that revealed love
and promised life-long devotion. God
was answering the prayers of a lifetime. And
He was fulfilling the tearful prayers of a young man
who stood on the bridge at Vernal Falls one day of long
ago.
Richard
Hollerman
