I did a wedding yesterday. It was supposed to be on the beach at dawn. At 5:00 when I woke up it was 53 degrees at our house. That meant on the beach the wind chill was probably somewhere in the 43 degree range. And factoring in the moisture in the air, you get a truly bitter cold in Galveston.
Dutifully, I headed out toward the West End of the Island for the beach house where the couple's family was gathered. I used the little gps feature on my phone to find the house in the dark. Actually it led me to the right street, but the street ran into a gap of sand dunes before the address came up, so I had to back track and find another entrance.
When I got there, the groom met me at the car. I wasn't but a few minutes behind schedule, but I guess he was a bit nervous for some reason. The ceremony was supposed to be just the brides and groom. They are an older couple, so they weren't interested in all the fru-fru stuff. I have a ceremony for situations like that. But when does a wedding ever go off just as planned? Apparently they let the cat out of the bag with their children. Upstairs waiting for us were two sons, a daughter and son-in-law, and a granddaughter. That changes everything in the ceremony, because I always try to involve the people around in it. Thankfully, I had plenty of time to jot down in my notes some of the things I usually say at full weddings.
I was also thankful that they had decided to stay off the beach itself. The house was on the first row of the beach side houses, so they had an incredible view of the sunrise over the Gulf anyway. The groom had the deck set up with some really nice flowers. I know he did it because when the bride saw it she was really surprised. Nice job, guy. The two sons were in their early twenties. One was named Chris and the other Nathan. Finally, someone whose names I could remember. And as we talked, I found out that Nathan was a lot like our Nathan. He enjoyed adventure and risk and doing wild and crazy things. He asked me to show them where to stand and what to do during the ceremony. I said to be creative. His response was, "That's dangerous. We are on a deck with sand down there. I've been wondering what it would be like to make the jump. And once I'm down there I could do some sand angels or something." I told him to go for it, that we would wait for him. His brother encouraged him otherwise. Something about Mom killing him.
Speaking of Mom, I was summoned into her bedroom by the daughter. She wanted to know if there was any way I could incorporate an idea into the process. Hey, I'm all about flexibility, so I listened to what she wanted to do. And it was a great idea. Took another few minutes to put the ad lib together in my mind, but I assured her we could make it happen.
At the appointed time I called everyone out onto the deck (except the bride. She was still in the bedroom). I explained a bit about how ancient betrothals worked. The couple was betrothed for a year while the groom built a house – or at least added on a room to his father's house – for the happy couple. Then when he was finished, his father had the task of inspecting his work and pronouncing approval. And when the Dad Stamp of Approval came down, he told his son to go get his bride. And the wedding feast began. It was a good picture of the appointed time in the future when God will send his Son to get his bride, the Church. At that point I turned to the groom and said, "Son, it's time. Go get your bride." Worked out really well. I'm going keep that idea in my arsenal.
Ecclesiastes 7:11-12 says, "Wisdom, like an inheritance, is a good thing and benefits those who see the sun. Wisdom is a shelter as money is a shelter, but the advantage of knowledge is this: that wisdom preserves the life of its possessor."
Father, I sure need your wisdom. It's not just a life preserver, but also a life enhancer. Amen.
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