eyes to see

The reason I'm beginning a blog at 12:30am?  My wife and I attended an outdoor wedding during a 55 degree rainy evening.  And before you think too much on that, I'd like to say it was one of the most beautiful weddings I've ever been to!  But to be honest, when we got home, we looked forward to having a hot cup of coffee.  I had two.  Drinking two cups of coffee at 10pm is the kind of thing that can keep you up at night.  Thus, my reasoning for being up at this time.  Trust me, I want to go to bed, but I can't.  My mind keeps racing and I'd like to share some of the things that it's thinking about.

I love weddings!  I could honestly attend a wedding every day.  There's something beautiful about a man and a woman coming together in the divine sacrament of marriage.  The electric-like anticipation generated as the guests wait for the wedding party to make their way up the aisle is something I can't get enough of.  And then there's the bride.  Some people cry, some people smile and some stand in awe as the beautifully prepared bride walks with her dad to the alter.  Personally, I like to take a couple glances at the groom and see his reaction as he sees his bride-to-be walk down the center row.  Then, there's the way the bride and groom look at each other as the pastor does his thing.  Sometimes you can see nerves and sometimes you can see humor between the two, but the thing that gets me is the love that you can feel as man and woman stand there holding hands and gazing into one another's eyes.  I love watching their every move, listening to every word and trying with all my might to catch every detail about the ceremony.  Oh, how I love weddings and everything they stand for in the eyes of God!  There's so much symbolism and so much to learn from.

If there's not enough beauty in the wedding ceremony between the bride and groom, there's more in the people being inspired by the divine union.  And it's these thoughts that have been keeping me up tonight.

One of the things that caught my eye tonight was a scenario that I observed take place between a husband and wife.  The husband was sitting up front with the wedding party and the wife was sitting somewhat near me.  As the microphone was passed around for various toasts, this particular husband took the mic.  I happened to glance over at his wife just in time to see eyes gently shut and her head slowly bow - she was praying.  She was praying!  It hit my like a freight train.  Could she be praying for her husband who was soon to speak into the mic and toast the bride and groom?  That must be it!  And it was so subtle, I don't think anyone noticed but me.  She kept her head down for a few seconds, opened her eyes and glanced up as her husband began the toast.  How amazing, I thought.  She was praying for her husband's speech.  What a beautiful scenario.  What beautiful people.  Only a pure and gentle and supporting wife's heart would do such a thing.  How pure.  How caring.  How intimate.  I may have been the only witness to this, but I left a better man for seeing what I saw.

Another thing that caught my eye was the pride and love of a father.  I like to watch people in their subtle moments.  This might sound weird, but in doing so, one's able to observe the thoughts of a person in action.  Tonight, I was able to observe the father of the bride.  He was an emotional man that wore his emotions on his sleeve, and again, I left a better man for seeing this in action.  Throughout the course of the night, you could almost see him stick out his chest in pride as he greeted the wedding guests.  I noticed his caring and heartfelt interactions with his other daughter's husband as well.  You could see him look at his new son-in-law with a confident love and acceptance.  You could see his affectionate heart glisten with a radiant kind of love as he addressed both of his daughters.  His voice cracked and his composure broke as he gave his toast; but it was one of the most touching things I had ever seen.  Oh the love of a father.  For once he had two daughters and now he has two sons.  What a beautiful family he has!

There must have been a hundred other moments that I saw tonight that I found to be beautiful.

The crew of friends and family that made the wedding and reception take place.  Everything from friends who ripped paper for decorations to friends that served and managed the food; all to serve the bride and groom in love.

The pastor's joy of the ceremony's completion.  This is something I can relate to.  After the ceremony was over, the pressure of not screwing up the wedding was gone.  The pastor's laughs, cheer, and confidence poured life into all he interacted with.

The glances I took at the several tables around me was incredible.  People sharing laughs, drinks, stories and life is something I never want to take for granted.  The general buzz created from the mass commotion of people talking created an euphoric energy in the room that I think I'm sometimes addicted to.

Tonight, I was graced with the opportunity to realize that people are beautiful.  I don't always have the eyes to see it, but when I do, I'm blown away at the greatness that God pours into his creation.  Lord, thank you for giving me eyes to see tonight!

It's now 1:30am and I've been writing this thing for an hour, I'm going to try and sleep now, but I thought I'd take some time and share my perspective.  Before I go, I'd like to make four final statements about the night...

People are beautiful!

Weddings are beautiful!

Joy is beautiful!

God is beautiful!