Two weeks ago tomorrow was a big day in my life. It was not the top day, but it easily hit the top ten. My oldest son, Sam was married to Melissa.
Why was this day a big deal? The first reason is because it was my son who was being married. I attended a wedding a few weeks before and it was a special occasion. Anytime two people make the public statement of commitment to one another, it is a big deal. But that was not my son or my daughter. Two weeks ago it was my son. Lori and I had the front row at the ceremony. It was a big deal.
The wedding was a big deal because it marked a big change in Sam’s life. Two years prior, Sam had finished one year of college with no plans for returning. He was drifting in life and I thank God that He took care of him in those days. Change started happening, very slowly, but it happened. Come to think of it, the slow change is most often a real change. What was the reason for this change? It was Melissa.
Another reason the wedding was a big deal was the work and expense that Melissa put into making the day just as she wanted. The wedding was in a beautiful church and there was a sit down dinner at the reception. Certainly not like our cake and punch reception in the basement of the church. It was a great time and an excellent way to make a special mark on the special day. To this untrained eye, everything went off perfectly.
The final reason for special nature of the day was the meaning of the day to others. The primary purpose was to unite these two in marriage. But there was a wonderful side benefit of allowing parents, grandparents, uncles, aunts and cousins to have a day to remember. For those of us who are married, it was a day to remember our marriage day. It was a time to dream of the promise of Sam and Melissa’s life together compared to the partially realized dream of my life with Lori. May Sam and Melissa have half as much fun being married as we do.
Sam and Melissa, thank you for going to the trouble of having the wedding. Thank you for sharing this event in your life with us. Thank you for not making the decision to just start living together without the great marker in time of the wedding ceremony. Thank you for betting your life on living together with each other and reminding me of why I did the same 24 years ago.
