Labor of Love

It all started in late December of last year...my daughter's engagement to a fine, God-fearing man. Planning a DIY wedding is not for the weak-minded. We immediately began searching for the perfect invitations. These days, there's internet overload, with Pinterest, Etsy, and virtually millions of ideas. But we're cheap, so we scrounged all over and found a beautifully embossed, cream-colored invite (that included a satin ribbon to tie it all up with) at Michael's. With our 40% off coupons in hand (you can only use one at a time), we traveled all over the immediate South to find enough of them. They've sat prettily in their boxes until a couple of weeks ago. With the coronavirus mess, we have been unsure of what to do. Will the wedding be at her original venue with lots of folks, or will it be in our backyard, with only immediate family scattered at 6-foot intervals? They were already printed, so we made an executive decision: send 'em! We put a little slip of paper inside each one that said to check on the website for updates, just in case.

Months ago, I took a refresher course in calligraphy, buying new supplies and practicing for hours. We bought champagne-colored wax and a special seal with "N" on it, to gussie up the envelopes. With much pain and suffering, I eked out the sprawling words in a new wedding font at the drafting table in my studio. The playlist on my iPhone varied from Jack Johnson to Mozart, depending on the mood of the hour. Liz was hunkered down at the dining table, working from home and polishing up the guest list in her spare time. I was hunkered down, trying to write fancy words while squashing my ribs into pretzels. After they were finally addressed, I think it took two days for us just to assemble them, with the blistering hot wax flourish at the end (minus not a little skin off our fingertips). We packed them all up in two big boxes and hauled them into the Post Office. I peeked inside first, to see if our favorite Post Office Lady was there. If she hadn't have been, we were headed back home until we could stand in her line. This was too emotional a day for us to have some cranky person tell us our wax seal was verboten or that we were a pinch over on postage. Thankfully, she was there and blessed us with her kind words and hopeful wishes for Liz's wedding day. I felt hesitant to hand them over...it was like they were our little babies and how could we just leave them with someone else? In the end, I released my grip on the box and let them go. 

I cried a little when we got to the car. What was that about? Then I realized, this was about my daughter. That dear woman, beautiful and strong. She has dreamt of her wedding day all of her life. As a little girl, she would ask me to buy her bride's magazines. We would look at pictures of bridesmaids dresses. "Mama, these are the colors I want at my wedding someday...here is a  hairstyle I love...I wonder what kind of dress I will wear?" Every wedding that we've been involved in (which has been considerable), she is right there at my elbow, helping decorate and plan. Her quiet, private demeanor belies all the deep thoughts that run through. We have seven weeks to go, only seven. Both of our lives will change forever. She is the last of our four children at home, our only girl, and she's been here awhile. After college, she settled into a busy HR career and took her time choosing a husband. There were those who thought she shouldn't live with her parents, but I'm grateful. She paid rent, helped us out around the house and made me laugh. We will always be the best of friends, but I'm going to miss her and our late nights terribly. To everything there is a season. 

Of all times to get married, it would fall on this crazy year. She has had the best of attitudes, missing out on all the hoopla that normally precedes a wedding: no showers, no bachelorette party, no bridesmaids luncheon. I see her bearing it with strength and class. I don't know if I could be so resolute, proof being that I'm not resolute now. A few days ago, we finally forced ourselves to walk out into our backyard, to think about an alternate plan to the venue that we had all hoped for. The birds were fluttering, mad with spring fever...the clover underfoot smelled divine. The leaves looked like fresh mint and tiny bees buzzed sweetly as we walked around. There's a little rise between our yard and our neighbor's...the perfect spot for a wedding. We imagined her walking from the house to meet her groom on a summer's day, with flowers and lanterns and music. The cares of this world fell away. I thought about the marriage supper of the Lamb...how that a wedding is a picture of Christ and His Church. As of right now, we have no idea how it's all going to pan out, but we do know: "...do not be anxious, saying, 'What shall we eat?' or 'What shall we drink?' or 'What shall we wear?' For the Gentiles seek after all these things and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all. But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you. Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself..." Matthew 6:31-34.  

I'm gonna lay it down right there.