booty dancing, singleness, & Dorothea getting married.

Dorothea’s wedding invitation came in the mail today. It was in Swiss German so I didn’t understand all of it, but that’s okay because mostly I just loved the pictures and the fact that she sent me one even knowing that I probably can’t be there. She also sent me a Starbucks gift card. What an incredible friend. 

Thinking of Dodo getting married feels a bit holy. Like finally God is letting us in on the bigger story He has been writing all along. I’m sitting here recalling all of the tender, tear-filled hours Dodo and I spent talking together about her often lonely journey of trusting God for a husband. The conversations we had in Chile, our long late night walks in LA, the girly sleepovers in Switzerland, constantly talking about what it might be like when she “finds him” and how in the world she was supposed to keep herself sexually pure for another year... or worse.... years. We wondered together if she would end up with a Swiss guy, or maybe a Latino, because she had a thing for tan men... and dancing. My personal hope, of course, was that he would be an American, just because when you find a friend like Dorothea you want to live on the same continent as her for as long as you possibly can. So many times we prayed for this mystery man, confident God was preparing him for for her, even though we had no idea who or where the heck he was. It’s sweet to see her fiancé now and be able to put a face to our prayers. He is Swiss, and handsome, and they lead worship together in their church. He brings out the best in her and I love him for that. 

Dodo’s singleness was my favorite kind of singleness, it was the purposeful kind. Somehow God let me have the honor of being the friend who saw the lonely tears she cried behind the scenes, but those moments were few compared to the time she spent investing in people and following Jesus to the ends of the earth. Dorothea squeezed every last drop out of her singleness, leading teams around the world to serve others in places like Costa Rica, Haiti, Chile, Europe, and California. She was (and still is) incredibly open about her struggles, and hilariously disciplined about overcoming them too. Some of my favorite times happened when she wanted to flirt... or make-out... with dudes that weren't good for her, so instead she would memorize Bible verses to get her mind off it. There were a good few months where it seems like she was ALWAYS quoting scripture. I wouldn’t be surprised if she has the whole book of Psalms on lock now. 

Dodo loves bigger and more deeply than most people. In fact her ability to love big reminds me of the way she packs -- always, always BIG. I think Dodo packs for trips as if she is a small really well-dressed army moving to a foreign country for an unknown amount of time. She packs everything she might need, and everything you might need, and everything your sister might need too. Whether it rains, snows or is 99 degrees out everyday, she is ready. We led a team with her to Chile for a couple months and you would have thought she brought her whole closet with us. I actually know she didn’t though, because the day after we arrived there she announced that she had left her hair-straightener in her refrigerator back in LA... Her creative attempt to cool it off quickly, resulted in several months of wavy hair, and a confirmation that she did in fact leave something at home.

Dodo is a gift-giving, encouraging-note-writing, social butterfly who will stay up with you for hours, laughing, crying, praying, watching girly movies, or dancing with you to an R rated song until you are laughing so hard you are crying and need a good girly movie, and some prayer, to help you recover. Dodo listens with her whole heart, and gives of her possessions with her whole heart, and actually I think she does everything with her whole heart. When she was single she honored God with her whole heart, and now she is a few months away from being married and I’m confident she will honor God with her whole heart then too. 

It’s easy to get hung up on what we don’t have, whether it relates to singleness or anything else. But Dodo has shown me that I really can find all I need in Christ alone. 

By keeping our eyes on God & on the good He has for us right now we find renewed strength for life and peace to guard our minds. 

....And when all else fails, Dodo has taught me that a healthy dose of booty dancing and a good cry go a long way.   

Congratulations Doodle Bug, I love you and am SO happy for you.  

a few photos with Dodo from Chile, Switzerland & LA. 

that first one is from when we got tattoos together in Chile. :) 

Dorothea Wehrli is the Director of Beauty Arise Switzerland