The Imperfect Wedding
La Boda Imperfecta
by
Mary Hunt Webb
Posted May 29, 2023
Once a couple becomes engaged, they must plan carefully, not only for their wedding but also for the marriage that follows. [Photographer: Coryclay. Photo courtesy of Pixabay.com.]
When my then-fiancé and I became engaged, he was on leave from his job in another city in order to complete his course work for his master's degree. His marriage proposal took place fewer than six weeks before he was to return to his job in that city. Consequently, most of the planning for our summer wedding occurred by telephone across 150 miles. To help us accomplish that, it was his idea to purchase identical books on how to plan a wedding. As we set the date for our wedding in mid-July in Oklahoma, we used those books to help us plan everything down to the last detail so that nothing would go wrong.
However, when we arrived at the church on our wedding day, we learned that an important church meeting was taking place in the room that we had reserved for our reception. Consequently, our reception had to be moved to the church basement, which involved walking down a steep ramp from the sanctuary after the ceremony. As if that adjustment in our plans wasn't enough, the air conditioning had malfunctioned in the sanctuary. The windows there were sealed and could not be opened because the air conditioning was supposed to provide cool air. With the daytime temperature at 103 degrees Fahrenheit outside, the air inside the sanctuary was sweltering but we had no choice but to proceed with the ceremony inside. We all wilted along with the flowers through the ceremony.
The heat from the candles made the un-air-conditioned church sanctuary all that much hotter during the ceremony. [Photographer: Natalie White. Photo courtesy of Pixabay.com.]
While everyone wants a perfect wedding, the imperfect moments are most often the ones that make the event memorable. It was just such an occasion when Jesus performed his first recorded miracle. (See John 2:1-10 at the bottom of this posting.) At the wedding feast, Mary, the mother of Jesus, told Him there was no more wine. She clearly knew what her Son could do. Although He said, "My hour has not come," He still made it an unforgettable wedding when He turned water into wine.
Now that my husband and I have been married many years, we recognize that the problems of our wedding day made it unique and memorable. While none of us likes shortages or disappointments, those are often the circumstances that God uses to create special memories because in Jeremiah 29:11 God assures us, "'For I know the plans I have for you,' declares the LORD, 'plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.'" It is up to us to turn such situations over to Him so that He has the opportunity to do so.
Prayer: Faithful Father, thank You for providing wisdom as we make plans for the future so that we may cope graciously with any disappointments that may arise. We pray this in the name of Jesus, amen.
BIBLE VERSES USED IN THIS POSTING
Jeremiah 29:11 — For I know the plans I have for you, declares the LORD, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. (NIV)
Jeremías 29:11 — Porque yo sé los pensamientos que tengo acerca de vosotros, dice Jehová, pensamientos de paz, y no de mal, para daros el fin que esperáis. (Reina-Valera 1960)
John 2:1-11 — 1) On the third day a wedding took place at Cana in Galilee. Jesus' mother was there, 2) and Jesus and his disciples had also been invited to the wedding. 3) When the wine was gone, Jesus' mother said to him, "They have no more wine." 4) "Woman, why do you involve me?" Jesus replied. "My hour has not yet come." 5) His mother said to the servants, "Do whatever he tells you." 6) Nearby stood six stone water jars, the kind used by the Jews for ceremonial washing, each holding from twenty to thirty gallons. 7) Jesus said to the servants, "Fill the jars with water"; so they filled them to the brim. 8) Then he told them, "Now draw some out and take it to the master of the banquet." They did so, 9) and the master of the banquet tasted the water that had been turned into wine. He did not realize where it had come from, though the servants who had drawn the water knew. Then he called the bridegroom aside 10) and said, "Everyone brings out the choice wine first and then the cheaper wine after the guests have had too much to drink; but you have saved the best till now."
Juan 2:1-11 — 1) Al tercer día se hicieron unas bodas en Caná de Galilea; y estaba allí la madre de Jesús. 2) Y fueron también invitados a las bodas Jesús y sus discípulos. 3) Y faltando el vino, la madre de Jesús le dijo: No tienen vino. 4) Jesús le dijo: ¿Qué tienes conmigo, mujer? Aún no ha venido mi hora. 5) Su madre dijo a los que servían: Haced todo lo que os dijere. 6) Y estaban allí seis tinajas de piedra para agua, conforme al rito de la purificación de los judíos, en cada una de las cuales cabían dos o tres cántaros. 7) Jesús les dijo: Llenad estas tinajas de agua. Y las llenaron hasta arriba. 8) Entonces les dijo: Sacad ahora, y llevadlo al maestresala. Y se lo llevaron. 9) Cuando el maestresala probó el agua hecha vino, sin saber él de dónde era, aunque lo sabían los sirvientes que habían sacado el agua, llamó al esposo, 10) y le dijo: Todo hombre sirve primero el buen vino, y cuando ya han bebido mucho, entonces el inferior; mas tú has reservado el buen vino hasta ahora. (Reina-Valera 1960)
After the beautiful wedding is over and the couple has returned from their honeymoon, the challenges of life together as a married couple begin. [Photographer: Ryan McGuire. Photo courtesy of Pixabay.com.]
