Wedding Rehearsal

The rehearsal ran very smoothly thanks to our family friend Jeanie. She is an amazing organizer! B and I met with her on the Monday before the wedding and ironed out most of the details so she was able to make everything happen the exact way B and JR wanted.After we practiced we all headed to the fellowship hall to enjoy a wonderful meal hosted by JR’s family. Outback steakhouse did the cooking and it was delicious! JR and B put a slide show together of their lives to share with us and it was just so special. We then enjoyed family and friends sharing how much the couple met to them. Many tears flowed.

My husband T presented the groom with an iron. After hearing that JR had been inspired by T’s ironing he thought the gift would be appropriate to use as an analogy of marriage and the role of the husband. He shared with JR how important it is to understand your wife and her moods just as you take care to understand different fabrics and what they need. Sometimes you need a hot iron for the resistant fabric and other times you need a much lower setting for the very delicate fabrics. As a husband you must know what your wife needs because one setting won’t work on every situation. Sometime she may require heat and other times cool firmness. I then presented them with what I call “The Legacy.” It’s a tradition I started when our first daughter was married three years ago. “The Legacy” is a frame with pictures of the couples parents and grandparents on their wedding day. I also include their anniversary dates with the words “A Legacy of Commitment” written across the matt. There is a spot in the very center for the newlywed’s wedding picture. This symbolism is to be a reminder to JR and B as they go through life that there are those who have gone before them who have remained committed through the difficulties of this life and that the same is expected of them. It is my hope that they will be reminded when they face trying times, that they are not alone and that the same God who has kept their parents and grandparents together can keep them as well.

As the evening was coming to a close with a sweet time of prayer for the young couple, B asked me to go to the bride’s room and retrieve some gifts for the bridal party. As I walked down the dark corridor to the bride’s room the doors all closed behind me. It was only when I tried to return with the gifts that I realized I was locked in or should I say locked out? I saw movement way down the hall and began to bang on the glass doors. It was one of my daughters in the hall going to the restroom. She heard the banging, turned and looked right at me but because of the darkness couldn’t see me and returned to the fellowship hall. I realized that there was nothing for me to do but sit on the floor and wait for someone to miss me. As I sat on the floor in the dark I couldn’t help but ask the Lord what He was trying to teach me. I’m not sure this was His response to me but I surely thought, everything would be just fine without me, and I don’t have to be there for it to go smoothly.” Eventually JR’s uncle came into the hall and heard me banging on the door. I was released just in time to say goodbye to some of the guest. Again, no one missed me.