This is my cousin Bethany (and one of her sisters), in the back of her family's suburban as she leaves her childhood home on the way to her wedding. This happened last Friday, and she and Samuel have been married for just short of one week now. It was (obviously) a beautiful occasion, and now they are traveling for their honeymoon before heading home... to California. My heart is full as I think about that day, watching one of my very closest childhood friends put on a wedding dress and with it assume all the responsibilities, challenges, and graces of independent adulthood. There is no doubt in my mind that she is completely ready for this, I just don't know if I am!
Change is an inevitable part of life, but there are certain things that you never expect change to touch. This was one of them for me. Due to the risk of emotional breakdown, I will refrain from mentioning any of the zillions of memories I have shared with this girl over the years. She's put up with so much from me (as any of our parents will tell you!) and has always been there to deliver a much-needed dose of common sense and to sympathize with every little thing I might be feeling.
As I've grown up in basically the same place for most of my life I've had the strange experience of watching many of my closest friends leave. In some ways I envy them their adventures, and in some ways I just want it all to go back to the way it was.
But I am thankful for confidence in the fact that whenever life does cause our paths to cross again, we will be able to pick up right where we left off. I have quite a few people in my life like that, and I know that this makes me very rich indeed- even if my riches are a little bit scattered!
And with all of this sadness, I can honestly say that NOTHING makes me happier than to see the people I love faithfully following the Lord into whatever He has for them, especially when it makes them so very happy. So here's to you, Beth, for so gracefully and bravely stepping into this new and exciting life. May it be everything you dreamed it would be and more!
And with all of this sadness, I can honestly say that NOTHING makes me happier than to see the people I love faithfully following the Lord into whatever He has for them, especially when it makes them so very happy. So here's to you, Beth, for so gracefully and bravely stepping into this new and exciting life. May it be everything you dreamed it would be and more!
