January 15 – “Two creative wedding pieces”

I joined in on the exercise train with Chris yesterday.  well, sort of “with Chris.”  She went to cardiac rehab again.  I took a break from working on sermon stuff to head outside myself.  I took one of our patented neighborhood walks.  Just two miles this time.  Gotta stay on top of these things …

 

The highlight of the day for sure was the beach wedding I officiated in the late afternoon.  It was an intimate family affair, with the bride and groom and their children, the grandparents, a sister and brother-in-law, and a few significant others of the kids.  We set up on the beach just down from the church.  Everything went really well.  They did two different creative wedding pieces. 

 

One was the sand ceremony, which has really become popular here on the island.  Why?  Because they can’t do a unity candle on the beach. Why?  Because the wind never stops blowing.  Blows the candle right out.  Doesn’t make for a very impressive symbolism.  In the sand ceremony, the bride and groom each start with a jar of sand.  Different color for each of them.  They then pour that sand into one central jar to show the mingling of their lives.  In their case, there were also several children in their respective families, so each child had a jar of sand in his or her own special color.  They poured their sand into the central jar as well, creating a swirl of color.  Finally I poured some sand from the beach on top to represent the “God-housekeeping” seal of approval on the new family.

 

The second bit of creativity involved a basket of seashells.  Everyone who came was given a shell.  After the ceremony everyone was encouraged to see their shell as a special prayer or good wish for the new family.  Then they were to toss the shells into the Gulf, to represent throwing the requests before God.  It was a lot of fun for everyone to try to get the shell actually into the water against the wind.  Plus it will provide some future beachcomer a treat when he stumbles across one of the little heart-shaped shells. 

 

Genesis 2:18 says, “The Lord God said, ‘It is not good for the man to be alone.  I will make a helper suitable for him.’”

 

Father, please be with Julie and Bryan as they start off a new phase of their life together.  Draw them toward yourself.  Amen.