The Sweetest Parts of Spiritual Community
Today was another milestone.
I got to bear witness to the wedding of a beautiful couple who met in youth group at our church, back in 2017-2018. But the bride…well, I held her as a newborn baby. I was there when her mama was the bride. (Who even am I? Old. I am old.).
The part that is just as special to me, though, is the fact that this wedding also involved two of my dearest girlfriends - one, the mother of the bride, the other, the mother of the groom.
(The mother of the groom, Trinette Williams, and me…in what world is life this sweet? Jesus, thank You. Just…thank You.)
(The mother of the bride and the father of the groom both shared their heart, at the beginning of the ceremony…)
I sat in the back, during the whole proceedings, and as always I found myself just taking in the whole moment. For lack of a better word…
…I was the fly on the wall. (My favorite thing to be, actually.)
Looking at the faces - some of them I did not know, out of town family of the groom, but many of the faces I knew almost as well as my own.
Friends. The kind of friends who are more like family.
And I found myself admiring my two gorgeous daughters’ profiles, their hair, and their presence. I am so Godly-proud of those two women, and the way they elevate a room when they enter it. My daughters carry themselves in ways that let others feel seen and cared for.
I watched their husbands as both men sat proudly by each daughter, and my grandchildren with them. I saw the way my sons-in-love would look at my daughters with such tenderness, and the way they both, as both sets of parents, would put their arms around my grandkids, smiling at the way they were enjoying this wedding.
(Proof that I stared at my girls. Both of them. Beauties.)
(The sons-in-love, who are actually lion-hearted men. :) )
This day was the fruit of so much sticking and staying. It is easy for me to understand why Jesus’ first miracle was at a wedding. I honestly believe weddings are His favorite. Weddings are times when friends and family gather with a heart and a bond that, if they are blessed, has been forged by the Spirit. Weddings brim with promise and hope for the future.
The bride and the groom are integral to the life of Harvest Church. Lydia (the bride) leads our congregation in worship on many-a-Sunday. Micah (the groom) is one of our youth pastors. Their passion for the kingdom of God is always a palpable thing, when you are around them.
(These two. Parents of the bride. Pillars in the house, as are their parents, as are their children. Harvest is so blessed to have several 3 generation families.)
(The Preacher, just before he prayed over Lydia and Micah, remarking how he first met Lydia when she was only hours old. Oh, my heart.)
If you had told me twenty years ago, how good it would all be, in spite of every hardship and heartache, I am not sure I would have believed you. Because some days it feels too good to be true, even for me.
And now, I best sign off. I need to cook dinner for The Preacher, then we will snuggle up on the couch and watch Dick Van Dyke, and Leave It To Beaver (yes…our two favorites). Then, we both will turn our faces towards Sunday.
Life goes on. The good things continue. The gathering of the saints is tomorrow. And my next big art show is one week from RIGHT NOW.
I could not be more glad.
