Weddings....

We were invited to a wedding....and we accepted.

The date was a little ominous for me, April 10th. Mine was April 11th (only because the church was reserved on the 10th). Theirs was the weekend after Easter, as was mine.

So... needless to say, I had a little fear about how I would react.

The kids and I were dressed, and we headed to town. I plugged the address into the GPS. and we were off. About two blocks from our destination, I realized where we were headed. A small part of me deep inside cried out - "No! No! Not THAT church... oh God, not THAT church...."

Obviously, I'd been there before. It's not a bad church, and I'd actually never set foot in the sanctuary. I just have a history with it - in ways that uniquely tie it to my marriage.... and my divorce.

We parked and walked toward the front of the building. My kids spotted the labyrinth, and asked to walk it. I nodded, and we headed in that direction. They ran and skipped as they circled toward the center. I stopped dead in my tracks, as I looked and that garden that surrounded it.

Bleeding hearts. Surrounding me in all directions, in full bloom: bleeding hearts.

Very funny, God. But, I will say, He definitely had my attention.

We walked in and sat on the Bride's side. The music, on piano, "How Great Thou Art".

I settled one child on either side and began to look around. The cross, suspended from the ceiling, caught my eye. It has a striking resemblance to the one that often hangs around my neck.

The music transitioned to "It is well..." (with my soul), and I sighed as I recognized the melody.

Clearly, there was a lesson to be learned here. I may as well not fight it.

It was a beautiful ceremony - and they are so much farther ahead of where I was on my wedding day, in terms of inviting God into the marriage itself rather than merely the wedding.

I was reminded of something else sitting in those pews. A few years ago, the church had a catastrophic fire, which destroyed much of what was in existence. It has been beautifully rebuilt.

Just like me (a work in progress....).