Wedding Excitement!

We are now down to less than a month until my son and his fiance are married! My youngest ones are counting down to the wedding rather than counting down to Christmas!! They've told everyone they are getting "two new sisters" which raises a lot of eyebrows and questions. Those who don't know about the wedding think we're having twins or adopting, those who know about the wedding wonder if maybe we're in some cult with multiple wives!! I just think it is wonderful that they automatically not only count the bride as their new sister but also the bride's sister as such. We are so very, very blessed to be planning the wedding of our son with such a wonderful family.

This weekend was the first of three wedding showers, with the other two being the following weekend. I'm not a "love-to-shop" kind of person (online shopping is one of my most favorite inventions of all time:) !) but it is fun to go shopping with family members knowing that everything you buy will be received from two very grateful young people starting out with almost nothing materially but oh, so very rich with love, compassion, spiritual truth and blessings of understanding the need for Christ's salvation. (Can you tell I'm a tad bit biased??!!)

For the past several years I have been in almost despair as I have attended wedding after wedding where the trappings of the wedding were almost ridiculously lavish and absolutely no wealth of genuine love that only Christ can give. It has been as if there were supposed to be three at the altar and only two showed up, with the One missing being the most important One. I have despaired to see those same couples separate after less than a year and wondered "Why can't they see that marriage is forever"? only to realize that they CAN'T see the truth without Truth Himself being a part of their lives. Anyway, this year has been amazing. The year of renewing my optimism. No less than 3 weddings this year have been between young men and women who are wholly committed to Christ, who testify of His love, His binding cord of love that is the strongest cord of love in marriage. These three couples have committed to a marriage, not a wedding. They have covenants (unbreakable, eternal, not dependent on actions), not contracts. They understand that they are a sinner married to a sinner and there will be trials and heartaches as well as joys and blessings. They know that only with the third cord is there any hope of a covenant. They are a blessing to those who don't understand the difference as well as to those who do. They are an encouragement to this sometimes-too-cynical-and-saddened-old, soon-to-be-mother-in-law. May I always be a mother-in-love, and not just a mother-in-law to each and every one of my "new" children!