A Perfect Day

Image credit: Pixabay.com (2012), CC0 Public Domain[/caption]

… a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one. (Matthew 19:5)

Some things just go together. Salt and pepper, peanut butter and jelly, thunder and lightning, and now the newest addition to that list: Jason and Katie! On Saturday there was curly hair, fancy clothes, shiny shoes, pretty flowers, and hugs galore. The music was lovely, the food was delicious, and the laughter was contagious. The flower girl was a delight to watch and the friends and family that gathered to celebrate were a collection of the finest folks you could know. I think I was prepared for all of that but then there were the surprises, the things that took my breath away and left my heart all warm and melty. I wasn't ready to see the group of men who played at my house as little boys and sat in my classroom as elementary students, dressed in tuxedos all grown up and completely handsome. I hadn’t thought about what it would be like to look across the dance floor and spot dozens of former students dancing at a function that wasn’t the senior prom. I wasn’t ready for the emotion I’d feel that came from an older brother standing next to the guy he’d wrestled with and harassed and loved for a couple of decades with such a proud smile. I wasn’t quite prepared to listen to him toast his little brother and pull wedding rings out of his pocket so Jason could seal his promise to the lovely girl from the next town to the north. I didn’t know quite how to feel as I sat in pew three looking at my handsome sons on the altar and listening to their little sister's gorgeous voice drift down from the choir loft above. I didn’t count on the explosion of emotion as my three little Wohlferts became four and stood at the altar looking all grown up. The part I really wasn’t able to prepare for was watching my son make the same promises to his bride that his dad made to me many years ago. I couldn’t cry when I saw the smile that took up his whole face when he saw his gorgeous Katie coming down that aisle. I’ve never seen happy in such living color as I did when he took her arm and walked her to the top step of the altar! I’ve heard wedding vows before but they sounded so different when they came from the voices of my son. I’ve had lots of proud-mama moments over the last couple of decades, but knowing that someone so lovely, so genuinely good inside and out, had chosen my son to spend her whole life with was a pride I’ve never felt. Listening to the things they wrote about each other's faith and desire to put Christ at the center of their marriage and help each other follow God’s plan made my heart swell in a way I’m not quite sure I can describe in words. My grandma told me that you have to find a spouse who can help you get to heaven. When I found that spouse 27 years ago, I started praying that my children would find theirs too. I wasn’t prepared to know how thankful I’d feel that God answered that prayer so perfectly for Jason and Katie. It was a happy day, a beautiful day, a fun day … a perfect day! As I soaked in all the emotion and sat watching the day unfold in joy and gratitude for the grace and blessings we were all neck deep in, I had a thought. As splendidly perfect as the day was, it was just a teeny reflection of the love our Father has for us. Feeling the power of that truth, my friends, was something I really wasn’t prepared for: It hit me like a ton of bricks. It was as if he whispered to me, “Sheri, all this happiness, joy, beauty, celebration: It’s just a shadow of what I feel for all of my children every minute of every day.”