Just got back from home…ur, Ohio that is (not sure where “home” is right now), and started my new job at UPS. As the packages come out of the truck onto a conveyer belt I scan them and slap on stickers. It’s kinda like those arcade shooting games, except I have unlimited quarters.
My trip began Thursday night and ended Monday evening. I put almost 3,000 miles on my truck. That’s about fifty hours in my little S10. That’s a lot of driving. That’s a lot of time to think…so I apologize if I go a little crazy in the next few days on my blog.
The trip was quick and I saw a lot of friends and family in short period of time…but every conversation was full of life.
Jared and Becky’s wedding was not like any other I’ve been a part of. It seemed…strange to say, but…holy. I was taken a back not simply by the bride’s beauty, by the groom’s reaction, or by the songs, but by the Holy Spirit as the story of Adam and Eve was read, as the parents prayed together, as the vows were exchanged, and Dr. Smith’s homily was given. It felt more like a sacrament, “a means of grace”, than a simple traditional ceremony.
There was another “strange” element to the wedding. On a day that was supposed to be all about them, the bride and groom went out of their way for their guests. Little details…like the not so typical wedding slide show/video played during the picture time so there was not waiting on the wedding party. Like the little books with pictures and stories about each person in wedding, so everyone could get to know them…which was later given to the groomsmen, bridesmaids, and ushers. Like the “head table”, just big enough for Jared and Becky…allowing those in the wedding party to be seated with their family or friends. Like how each quest was greeted by the newly weds. And the list could go on. I felt not like an observer, or a witness, but like a participant. And I had this odd feeling that my feet were being washed. I think for the first time I felt like the disciples did when Jesus took his water basin and towel and knelt before them. A pleasant disturbance…the feeling that what is happening, shouldn’t, and usually doesn’t, but at the same time, seems like a better way.
I felt like Jared and Becky washed my feet on their wedding day.
I was humbled. And in reflection have this thought: Does God bring two people to become one so that each one has his and her “needs met” (as I hear all the time) or does He create two people that are designed to be as one person, together greater than they are apart (like two lights that glow brighter together), for the work of making His Kingdom a reality here on earth.
Not two pieces of a puzzle connecting simply for the sake of the pieces themselves, but two pieces joined together for the sake of the picture…God’s plan for all of creation.
It’s not about an exchanging of loves, but a sharing of Love…a love that that is far greater than two people and what they can or can’t do for each other. Marriage, and the “bedroom”, is about more than the celebration of each other and private intimacy. Matrimony is about holy inspiration and a unity that perpetuates action. Like a sacrament, a means of grace...that when experienced brings two as one closer to the Creator in a union that involves them in not just their own love story but in His love story…joining them not only in the pursuit of each other but in His pursuit of all people.
So in a sense Jared and Becky’s day was not just their own, but His, and ours. A day in which the Church was strengthened and the potential for God’s love to be made Know in the world was increased.
Thanks Mr. and Mrs. Jared Bell. You are a powerful example of God’s true design for marriage…and my feet feel clean. Oh yah, the cake wasn’t bad either.
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