Bonus Post - Wedding Edition

There was a time that I used to blog twice each week. It has been awhile since that was true, and it will be awhile until it is true again, but there is a bonus post this week!

Sometimes there are milestones in life that I just want to commemorate, and the blog has been a nice place to store them. Last Sunday, I had the privilege of living one of those milestones with my nephew and his brand-spanking-new bride! It was a beautiful day, full of emotions, like any good wedding should be. 

There was joy for the couple and their new beginning, and grief for those who could not be there for the day. Bittersweet seems too mild an adjective, but it about sums things up. Still, the joy outweighed any dark clouds, and these two have started their married life pretty well, I'd say. 

Somewhere along the way, the couple asked me to do a reading on their special day, and I was honored to say yes. I know all the "old standards" that should be read at a wedding, and I had a couple of those locked and loaded...but I asked the bride if I might write something special, just for them. She said yes, and this is what I came up with...

Zack and Morgan - 

Today you bring the best of each of you together, forever, and this is good. It will not be easy. Being married is never easy all the time, because we all bring our own burdens to the table...and then we find new ones together. Because marriage can and will be difficult, there are some things I'd like each of you to carry with you, especially for the difficult days.

Before you were born, God knit you each together in your mother's wombs. He watched you grow and meet and date and fall in love, and he continues to watch over you to this day, because of his great love for you both. This love is the kind of love we should all strive for in our relationships, it stretches higher than the heavens. In fact, God is love, and the Bible tells us that we can love others because he first loved us.

As you love each other, remember that love is patient and kind. It is not envious, does not boast, is not proud. Love honors the other person, it is not selfish or easily angered, and it doesn't keep score of rights and wrongs. Love rejoices in the truth, it always protects, trusts, hopes and goes on. Love  never fails. 

Perfect love never fails, but people do fail, and you will sometimes fail one another. When that happens, be quick to forgive and keep loving anyway. When things are not 100% perfect, the world will be quick to tell you that "you don't need this," or "you can do better." Keep loving anyway. When you are hurting, and your spouse is not helping, remember your promise to love and try again, with patience and kindness and hope. Keep loving anyway. If you both love selflessly, with patience and kindness, trust and hope, your love story can last a lifetime. 

My love for both of you hopes that you will find your happily ever after, starting today. Always remember, when everything else fails, these three remain: faith, hope and love, but the greatest of these is love. 

(Psalm 139:13, 103:11; 1 John 4:16, 4:19; 1 Corinthians 13) 

The reading should have taken two-and-a-half minutes, and it did when I practiced in the kitchen. In front of these cherished loved ones however, tears ambushed me, and I know it took a bit longer. Still, I hope that these words will come back to them at just the right time. Thank you, Zack and Morgan, for including me and Uncle Eric in your special day. 

Thank you friends, for indulging this proud aunt. Now, I think it is time that we all get back to Knitting in Good Health! You know what comes after a wedding, right? #Littleknits at some point, when they are good and ready.

(Lest you think that I am wise in my own eyes, I have also included the Bible references that I stole from. There are so many words of blessing and promise in God's Word. I would be a fool to not go there first!)