Lukas and Amy met at a church retreat playing games. They are still going to church and still playing. In this photo they are snowshoeing at 14,267 feet.
Today is their tenth anniversary. They had planned to celebrate by driving up the coast, but a chunk the size of a house fell off the Pacific Coast Highway rendering that iconic road broken. Sometimes the path we thought we would take becomes impassable. Which invites us to discover another way.
Their
wedding was instead called a marriage celebration whose focus was the two great commandments.... love for God and love for their friends. Amy was unconcerned about herself to the point that she wasn't sure what she would wear, and took a few possible outfits along. One of Lukas' primary goals was to spend quality time with both families, so the rehearsal was a chance for all of
us to create fruit kabobs for the reception. It was fun. Amy and Lukas hung twinkle lights in the hall, brought baskets of crayons for guests to draw on the tables, and thanked each person for coming. Instead of following the expectations that large events often carry, they went a different way. As Amy described it:
No flowers, no photographers, no alcohol, no attendants, no shoes, no dress, no aisle, and ultimately not a whole lot of fuss!
The ceremony took place on a pineapple quilt that I made for them, and they read their vows off of their Iphones.
If you see the moon
Rising gently on your fields
If the wind blows softly on your face
If the sunset lingers
While the cathedral bells peal
And the moon has risen to her place
You can thank the Father
For the things he has done
Thank Him for the things He's yet to do
And if you find a love that's tender
If you find someone who's true
Thank the Lord
He's been doubly good to you
If you look in the mirror
At the end of a hard day
And you know in your heart you have not lied
If you gave love freely
If you earned an honest wage
And if you've got Jesus by your side
You can thank the father
For the things He has done
And thank him for the things He's yet to do
And if you find a love that's tender
If you find someone who's true
Thank the Lord
He's been doubly good to you
Words do not adequately encompass the feeling of seeing your firstborn son marry a woman who cherishes him. It is like trying to catch the downpour of a tropical rain with a teacup. Amy loves Lukas. She honors him, and longs to welcome him home after a hard day. She thanks God for him.
I know that God loves each person on this planet. I believe that those relationships bring Him vast joy. Yet having felt the eruption of ecstasy that bubbles up each time I hear Amy sing to Lukas, I glimpse the possibility of a source of happiness that is more immense.
God's pleasure is still more resplendent when His children love each other.
