A few weekends ago, we celebrated another family wedding.  Our son Jacob married the lovely Anna Gentile and it was a lovely wedding!  Below are some musings I jotted down during that weekend’s events.

1. Weddings are beautiful things.  This wedding involved lots of sunshine (a huge answer to prayer after the Spring weather we have had) and lots of lights and candles and flowers.  As expected, it was full of stress and busyness and it was more than a little wearying.  It was also expensive. They always are, no matter how frugal the bride and groom attempt to be.  Food, flights, formals, and photographers take money!  And yet, weddings really are beautiful things.  Two people from two families with two different lives become one new couple.  I am likely biased, but this one was especially beautiful. Our Jacob married a lovely Christian lady from a wonderful Christian family.  While we have only known the Gentile family for a few years, our lives are now entwined together forever.  That is something beautiful.
2. Vows are sacred things.  In a day when wedding vows are sometimes meaningless, this couple took them very seriously. They wrote private vows to each other and shared those together privately. They also make public vows – in the presence of God and this company.  “For better or for worse,” they both said. That, in itself, is a sacred statement.  In marriage disappoints will come. Failures can occur.  People will go through seasons and will change as a result.  Valleys will have to be traversed and mountains will have to be climbed.  Giants will have to be defeated.  While we all love and prefer the better times, vows are written for the other – the times that are worse.  Worse times lead us to “I” times – I am, I will, I should (often shouted in all caps).  Vows, however, remind us to focus on the “we” and provide a reason to stay and fight, not each other, but for each other! Those times determine whether or not we will remain faithful and loyal and together.  Vows really are sacred!
3. Anniversaries are victorious things.  Last December, my mom and dad celebrated 60 years of marriage.  Sunday, in the church I pastor, we celebrated two anniversaries.  One couple had been married for 62 years and the other for 57. Three weeks ago on a platform at a church in Flatwoods, KY, a beginning occurred. My mom and dad were there as were many other married couples.  Who knows how many combined anniversaries we have celebrated?  One thing is certain, every one of them was a victory.  

Our prayer for our Jake and Anna is that together they will celebrate many wonderful years.  None of us know the future, but perhaps 60 years from now they too will sit in a church auditorium and celebrate the marriage of one of their grandsons. If so, that will be a beautiful, sacred, victorious thing! 

Thanks for reading!

Your friend,

Dave Young