Today I attended the wedding of Paul and Sherri, and it was beautiful for a lot of reasons: they looked amazing in their formalwear, it was a relaxed and joyous ceremony, the church was lovely, and it was a second wedding for both of them.
Since I am all girlie about weddings, and get especially excited about the clothes, I have to start there. Sherri’s dress was navy blue with a full ruffly skirt and silver trim on the bodice, paired with a white jacket. It was a stunning choice that looked terrific on her. You’d never guess she’s a mom of three. Paul is active military and wore his new full dress formal, right down to the ceremonial sword, that he later cut the wedding cake with (which by the way was even cooler than it sounds). Their families, making up a large portion of those in attendance, were wearing navy blue and black. Quite an attractive group.
The wedding was held at a small country chapel, which was warm and welcoming, filled with beautiful stained glass windows and wonderful energy. The friendly pastor and church secretary were there to greet the small group on this Thursday afternoon for the ceremony – St. Patrick’s Day, the date chosen as Paul says, because it’s always a party.
More than all else, it was a beautiful wedding because of grace. Today Paul and Sherri came before God and friends, two people putting brokenness behind to enter into a brand new covenant with each other. What an act of faith – to step out into that territory where they’ve been burned before. They knew each other in high school, even dated, but went separate ways then, only to circle back and find each other now, decades later. They each have three children, and have been on similar journeys that are now merging into one big Brady Bunch style happy beginning. What’s not to like about that story?
By grace we are saved through faith, as scripture says. Maybe sometimes we save one another with our love, and the faith to proceed even when we know what the worst outcome looks like because we’ve lived that nightmare before. But we choose to love anyway, with the faith that it will be worth it.
The pastor preached from the Song of Solomon, remarking on the love and adoration that the man and woman had for one another, which is echoed now in this love newly awakened. This is a covenant, she added, not a contract that the couple enters into. It is not a matter of each person getting their deserved end of the bargain, but something different. But what? That’s where she lost me, since I don’t honestly really understand marriage anymore, and can’t quite stretch my mind around the concept. Maybe someday. I was certainly listening and observing closely, trying to figure out this mystery. Like a magic trick that you can watch over and over and never quite solve, right before my eyes I saw the moment of transformation. From two individuals to a single, unified couple. How does God do that?
It was nice to be in a church again. It’s been several months for me, for reasons some of you will understand, others of you will think you understand, and I absolutely do not understand. Funny how you can go to the same church all your life, then one day find yourself on the outside looking in. I’d forgotten that it felt good to sit in a pew, hear a pastor preach, and pray with other people. It felt good to bless the newlywed couple and enjoy the overwhelmingly radiant love and grace. What could be more royal than that?
