Hope Blessing

Hello Friends! Welcome (or welcome back) to the Speak Up for Hope Blog! Jennie Afman Dimkoff here. I am J.P. Kent’s aunt, and I have the privilege of serving on the board of Speak Up for Hope.
This past year was a joyful one for our family as we celebrated the wedding of our daughter, Amber Joy, to her long time love, Mark Weber. Mark is a hospital chaplain in San Diego, California, and as he and Amber were planning their very special wedding ceremony, Amber experienced one great sorrow. She knew that JP, her cousin who she had loved like a brother since she was a little girl, would not be able to attend her wedding, because of his incarceration in Florida.

How little did any of us know that Jason Kent’s presence would be felt in a very real and meaningful way at Amber and Mark’s wedding. You see, J.P. may not have been there in person, but he took the time to write a “Blessing” that was so meaningful to Mark and Amber, that they decided to have it incorporated into their wedding ceremony. At the end, the congregation stood, and with close family members gathering around the bride and groom, and “laying their hands upon them” and all others laying a hand on the shoulder of the person in front of them, the pastor read these words written by Jason Kent:

Dear Mark and Amber,

May your love grow to depths you’ve never known before as your hearts beat together. May you be consumed by spontaneous laughter and smiles as new joys together are discovered. May you never tire of plumbing the reservoir of mystery in each others’ soul and treasuring each new, unique surprise.

May you strive to magnify the best in one another’s character and to display grace for the abrasive bits. May you look for opportunities to build, create, edify, and to bless each other (especially in front of others) and be known as a team for such good–that an aroma of peace, rest, and hope is always left in your wake. May you tirelessly stay on your quest for Truth, and enrich others as you share such transcendent good and purpose with them.

May people light up and get warm with expectation of compassion when they see you two coming, and may you leave behind wisdom and healing in the lives you’ve touched.

May God bless you both with an ever more intimate, transparent, and beautiful relationship with Him and each other as each year goes by. May truth, beauty, and goodness be your companions on each new adventure together.

I am happy for you and will pray for you regularly.

Love, J.P.