October 5 – “Random Stranger”

I was the officiant for a surprise vows renewal on the beach last night.  Well, it was a surprise that everyone knew about except the bride.  They had masterfully kept the whole thing a secret from her.  She thought the whole thing was a simple family photo shoot.  Little did she know that it was instead a ruse to get her to the beach for a 30^th anniversary celebration.

Now, like every marriage-type celebration I have ever been a part of, this one didn’t go off without a hitch.  The venue was a spot out on East Beach near Beachtown.  I know.  Creative name for a development.  I got there about 30 minutes ahead of the agreed-upon time.  And just as I was parking the car I got a text from the couple’s daughter, the primary co-conspirator with her Dad.  She wanted to let me know that the party would be about 30 minutes late in arriving.  Uh Oh.  Shades of a previous wedding from hell where they were so late we had to complete the service in the dark.  I decided to drive around a bit just to get the lay of the land.  I don’t go over there very much.  During my casual puttering I happened to pass one of those box mail trucks.  The guy driving looked kind of familiar, so I turned around and followed him to his next stop.  Sure enough I did know the guy.  Turns out it was my son Kel the Mailman.  We chatted a bit, than I let him get back to work. 

I finally parked and engaged in the pasttimes of two generations at the same time.  I listened to the car radio while checking my email and browsing FaceBook.  As the time drew near, I made my way to the gazebo that held the entrance to the beach.  There was another family already at the end of the trail – the very place they had hoped to do the service.  They were doing an actual family photo shoot.  I wandered around on the ramp from the gazebo to the sand, searching for a breeze and just waiting.  Even texted Chris a time or two just to let her know I was still waiting. 

Finally, about 50 minutes after the original anticipated start time (Wait. Don’t get me wrong.  I wasn’t upset or anything.  We still had plenty of light left.  And it wasn’t like the Astros were playing), everybody arrived.  Not sure what to do, I walked on ahead and pretended to be with the other family taking pictures, which was kind of funny in itself.  I explained to them what was happening, and they thought it was a very cute thing.  They got pretty excited about being a little part of it, and let me be part of their family for a few minutes.  Finally, the daughter waved for me to come join them. 

I walked straight over and stepped in front of the bride and groom.  She was rather taken aback at the random stranger crashing their party, but when I opened my book and started the opening prayer, she figured out what was going on.  She leaned over to her husband and loudly whispered, “Did you know about this?”  Yep.  He knew.  Everyone did, except you.  Happy anniversary, Theresa.

The service went great.  And they still had time to get some pictures in.  I even took a few.  The sunset was beautiful.  And off in the distance a thunderhead grew and provided a bit of a light show.  Awesome stuff. 

Proverbs 15:31 says, “Whoever heeds life-giving correction will be at home among the wise.”

Way to go, God, on both accounts … the beauty of nature and the beauty of a relationship that has lasted 30 years.  Amen.