Wedding season is upon us. My calendar is filled with weddings for young couples who have decided they want to be married and share their lives together. They have also decided that they would like to pledge themselves to each other in an historic church building, that is where I come in. I am part of the package, the one who will conduct the service. Often as I stand there with a couple on their wedding day, leading them through their vows, I am amazed that people let me do this. My denomination and the government agree that I have legal status to perform weddings. It still boggles my mind.
A vast array of couples have stood in front of me. Some I look at and wonder what will become of them; if they have the stamina and fortitude to weather what life will bring them. Most of them don't have any idea of the challenges that living with another human being brings. Even if they have lived together for years something intangible changes when the vows are spoken, when a public commitment is made. I worry for some of them. Others I know will be alright. Those are fewer than the other category.
Believe it or not, it is easy to get jaded about love when faced with lots of weddings. Sometimes I think to myself, "If you just wanted a big party and to wear a beautiful gown, just do it and skip the marriage part." Don't worry, I don't say it out loud.
Then there are moments that come along and remind me, that love still exists and is possible. Today held one of those moments. Our music director, who is in his mid thirties, got married two weeks ago. From the initial date to the wedding ceremony was about six months. No one is pregnant. They are Mormon and Mormon weddings are a bit different. Lots of planning but not the same kind of planning. They pulled it off and today the choir had a party for them to celebrate. The love radiated out from them. They sat beside each other holding hands and telling stories about their courtship and the big day itself. There was a sense a peace and completion in them. You could tell they had found the place in the world where they are supposed be; beside one another.
It is always good to see love in the faces of two people as they look at each other. May the years be kind to them and when they celebrate their twenty fifth anniversary may they still look at each other the same way as they did today.
A vast array of couples have stood in front of me. Some I look at and wonder what will become of them; if they have the stamina and fortitude to weather what life will bring them. Most of them don't have any idea of the challenges that living with another human being brings. Even if they have lived together for years something intangible changes when the vows are spoken, when a public commitment is made. I worry for some of them. Others I know will be alright. Those are fewer than the other category.
Believe it or not, it is easy to get jaded about love when faced with lots of weddings. Sometimes I think to myself, "If you just wanted a big party and to wear a beautiful gown, just do it and skip the marriage part." Don't worry, I don't say it out loud.
Then there are moments that come along and remind me, that love still exists and is possible. Today held one of those moments. Our music director, who is in his mid thirties, got married two weeks ago. From the initial date to the wedding ceremony was about six months. No one is pregnant. They are Mormon and Mormon weddings are a bit different. Lots of planning but not the same kind of planning. They pulled it off and today the choir had a party for them to celebrate. The love radiated out from them. They sat beside each other holding hands and telling stories about their courtship and the big day itself. There was a sense a peace and completion in them. You could tell they had found the place in the world where they are supposed be; beside one another.
It is always good to see love in the faces of two people as they look at each other. May the years be kind to them and when they celebrate their twenty fifth anniversary may they still look at each other the same way as they did today.
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