Weddings and Birthdays

We had a whirlwind Saturday.

Jim had a "deacon retreat" on Friday night, until Saturday morning. I was really tired when he called me on Friday night. He's just been gone a LOT lately, so I'm looking forward to things getting back to normal around here. Anyway, I said, "if you tell me you guys are sitting out around a fire, over-looking over the lake, and eating steak or roasting marshmallows...I'm just going to cry.

No, but really.

He got home, showered, and changed...and we headed to a wedding. Truthfully, he didn't want to go...I made him. :)

In my defense, it was a pretty big day: two of the FRIENDS in Joshua's Therapeutic Recreation group got married.

GOT.MARRIED.

Yes, ma'am.

And if you think that didn't fire up all the FRIENDS, well, you'd be wrong. Because now? Now all the FRIENDS want to get married.

All of them.

The FRIENDS been excited for months...and even more as the weeks progressed.

This couple was married in a church about 50 minutes away from us. Jim, Joshua, and I put us on some weddin' clothes, y'all...and off we went! I mean...it's not every day.

Right?

The ceremony was sweet. Short and sweet. The bride was beautiful, as she walked down the aisle. Both the bride and the groom were very attentive to the minister during the ceremony. This is not something they just decided on a whim to do. They have full and complete support of BOTH of their families, because both the bride and the groom have some challenges of one sort or the other.

They will be living in a little cottage next to the groom's parent's house.

But first? A one month long honeymoon with family.

After the wedding, we decided to grab an early dinner. Jim and I hadn't eaten lunch, so we were pretty hungry. It was during our meal that we realized we would not have time to make it home before we had to head to a surprise birthday party for another friend of ours.

Oopsie!

So we headed to the birthday party, which was in ANOTHER town. It was really fun, and she was so surprised.

I thought about our day. How different it was...how different these two events were.

And yet, they were kind of the same.

The bride and groom...and the birthday girl...completely unrelated and unknown to each other...were all shown so much love. Family and friends came together to support the young ones just starting their lives together, and family and friends came to celebrate one who has been a part of their lives for 60 years.

Such a sweet day.

"Rejoice with those who rejoice; weep with those who weep." Romans 12:15