We went to another wedding this past week-end. This time it was a 30-something couple -- neither of whom I would have picked for the other -- and who appear to be exceptionally well-matched. That should give you some understanding of my matchmaking skills.
This wedding made me think of a wedding I was part of a long, long time ago. That marriage paired the daughter of a small-church pastor and the son of a politically-connected family. The church was absolutely full that day, and afterward, in a very traditional move, the entire bridal party were requested to stand in the receiving line. Do you remember those? Everyone there dutifully filed through the line and shook each bridesmaid's hand and each groomsman's hand before even getting to the stars of that day's show - the bride and groom. Interestingly enough, each guest seemed to feel it necessary to tell me - a lowly bride's maid - how he or she was connected to the couple. There were a very few college friends, a very few people who seemed to curry favor with the groom's family, and a few parishioners. What I never anticipated was how many were there because of the bride's mom. It wasn't that she held social power or was a maven of high society. As person after person after person came through the line that day, he or she would tell us how the bride's mom had introduced her to Jesus. "She loved me when I most needed it." "She showed me that Jesus loves me!" "She was the first person who taught me about the love of Christ." That receiving line and those testimonies went on for nearly an hour.
