My oldest daughter was married this last weekend to a wonderful young man I am proud to call my son-in-law. I was quite honored to be asked to officiate the wedding. It was held on the rooftop of a beautiful hotel in downtown Boston. As the sun set perfectly on the day, the beauty and serenity of the moment set the stage for this amazing event.
My grandson and granddaughter were ring bearer and flower girl for their Auntie. My new granddaughter, from my son-in-law’s previous marriage was maid of honor and my new grandson was best man for his father. What an honor it was for all of them to not only participate, but to play such an important and loving role in the wedding.
It struck me as I was helping the couple through their wedding vows how encompassing those vows really are. Obviously, the person who originally wrote them knew a thing or two about marriage. They knew couples would see better or worse times. They knew couples would see richer or poorer times. They knew couples would see times of sickness and times of health. Yet through all of these challenges and triumphs, couples vow to work through them together.
I’ve certainly seen better or worse times in my marriage. I’ve seen richer or poorer times in my life. I’ve experienced health and I’ve experienced sickness. I suppose you could say that’s what life is all about. We experience highs and lows, but it’s what we learn from each that is important.
I have to admit, I’ve learned more from the tougher times than I have from the better times. In fact, as I look back, I often took the better times for granted. It often took worse times for me to realize and appreciate how good I previously had it. It took poorer times to make me appreciate times when money wasn’t a struggle. It took times of sickness to realize how much I appreciated times of health.
Don’t get me wrong, I’m not wishing learning opportunities in the form of worse times, financial difficulties or illness for this couple. I hope they have the best times of their lives with an abundance of love and blessings. Most of all, I wish them health and a long, happy life together. I hope they appreciate all they physically, emotionally and spiritually have. And, should they run into any difficult times, I hope they rely on the strength of each other to guide them through and learn how to appreciate even more.
I expected Myasthenia Gravis to challenge me this weekend. There were a few flights of stairs I would need to navigate. I was concerned my voice wouldn’t hold out during the ceremony. I was afraid I would crash following the stress of the event. None of that happened. I navigated the steps just fine, my voice held out and I didn’t crash at all. I worried for nothing.
Sometimes we can worry so much about what could happen that we don’t allow ourselves to enjoy what is happening. I’ve done that so many times in my life, but not this time. I enjoyed every single minute of that day. I loved seeing my daughter and new son-in-law so happy. I loved seeing all my grandchildren participating in the ceremony. I loved seeing family and friends who had gathered to attend. I loved spending time with loved ones. For one of the few times in my life, I allowed myself to enjoy and appreciate instead of worrying. That was God’s special blessing for me.
Don’t get so caught up in worrying that something may happen that you fail to enjoy what IS happening. Push your worries aside and appreciate all the blessings around you.
I beat MG on Saturday. It felt so good, I think I’ll try it again.
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