Our Princess and her Prince Charming were wed yesterday. I couldn’t be happier! Everything, and I mean everything, was perfect. Yes, it could have been a little cooler. It might have been nice to have had more cool beverages on hand for guests to enjoy. The cake could have been a little fluffier. I am sure if I dwelt on things long enough, I could come up with a list of things that were not perfect. But those things don’t matter one bit.
Beautiful and I focused on preparing her for this day for as long as I can remember. You see for each of our children, we try to prepare them to be a good spouse. Our world is geared around teaching them to be good at everything else, but very little preparation is ever given to ready them for committing to another person, by choice through thick and thin. On the contrary, we live in a society that seeks to eliminate any kind of responsibility for anything. Commitment is not something that we hear a lot about. That makes the lessons we teach as parents all the more important.
Yes, there was the usual household skill training that Beautiful imparted to her. I tried to help Princess understand and engage as an equal partner that alien species called “Men.” I like to think we did a pretty good job. Princess is excellent with her household skills, but she will clearly do it differently than Beautiful. Princess is also great at spotting logic fallacies, articulating an excellent position and dialoging in challenging ways, while simultaneously enjoying things that normally interest those MEN. Together we tried to model working together and sacrificing for one another. Most importantly, we tried to show her that true harmony together, comes from true harmony with God. Some days we did better than others. All of that preparation culminated in a brief, beautiful and inspiring ceremony.
You see this was the perfect transition from one story to a new story. Our Princess has grown and blossomed. Our Princess went from being one of many in our story, to being a partner in their story. Yes, she will still be part of our family, and now, so is he. But, it will not be like it was. They have their own story to write, their own songs to sing and their own paintings to paint. We are here as a foundation and a bulwark of sorts, but we are not central to their story. They, and their relationship with Jesus Christ, are central to their story. They will make decisions together. Some we will applaud with fervor, while some will baffle and frustrate us. But our approval no longer matters. That all changed, when I placed her hand in his yesterday.
Our Princess went from being one of many in our story, to being a partner in their story.
For my part, as father of the bride, I was good with all of it. I have watched her grow and blossom, and I was excited more than anything for her. I was good with it all until the Father – Bride dance. She selected Butterfly Kisses as the song. I didn’t know she even knew that one. It was my theme song for her for many years. It describes exactly what took place yesterday. My little girl spread her wings and became the Great Queen alongside her Great King. I thank God for His mercy and blessing me to see this day. That is why everything, was perfect, despite, the heat, and the cake, it was PERFECT. I look forward to the chapters they will write together.
Seven on Earth 