Lance and I went to a beautiful wedding last night. It was meaningful for so many reasons – one being that it was my cousin’s oldest son getting married. If you know me, you know I come from a huge German family of five boys and one girl (two brothers passed away at a very young age). Papa’s grandkids were divided into two age groups. My big brother was in the first wave of grandchildren and I think there were about 12 cousins. There was a break of 4 or 5 years, then I came bursting on the scene as a HUGE surprise 12 years after my brother, then 4 more girls were born – one each year beginning with me in 1960, except the youngest skipped a year and came in 1965 rather than 1964. The five of us were raised like sisters. We grew up as a unit, our moms dressed us alike at Christmas, we were together playing at someone’s house at least once a week, and rumor has it I gave everyone the Chicken Pox. I call them my sisters. So this was the first wedding of a sister-cousin’s oldest child. Just that made me cry.
The service was beautiful at Christ the King Catholic Church in Oklahoma City. The organ music was stirring and set the perfect tone, the music was beautiful; however, it was the message of the Priest that moved me deeply. He was funny, he had wonderful sage advice but he spoke of things that all married couples should hear more than just their wedding day. Reaffirmation of what it means to be married, the hope for things to come, reassurance that you will make it through sickness and hard times, the value of commitment and hard work, and most importantly the importance of including Christ and prayer into your daily life as a married couple. As I felt the subtle squeeze of Lance’s hand on mine, I knew in that moment we had moved up to the altar and the Priest was speaking to us and reminding us why God decided to bring us together and was encouraging is to enjoy life and trust him to lead us into the next chapter of our lives. The service ended to shouts of congratulations and clapping from all of us there to celebrate the marriage.
I wonder if others felt that undercurrent of love and the first feelings of being a wife or a husband as the cheers and clapping continued to build as the couple made it down the aisle as husband and wife. We sure did…. It was a wonderful and timely evening. It’s always a good time to be reminded why you both decided to take the next step into marriage. It’s even better to be reminded that even through the storms of life, the sun will rise on a new day the next morning as God planned.
Love your spouse today. Say something nice about him or her specifically to his/her face. Do something special or extra for the love of your life today. Cherish what you have….. Peace be with you.
The Happy Kamper - 