The Last Wedding

"Eve" is the last of my daughters to get married.  Hers is the last wedding at which I expect to officiate. As a non-appointed retired clergy,  doing weddings is not something I have done in my retirement. At least for me, those grew out of my relationship with a particular parish.  And as a Methodist pastor, when you leave a parish, you are not supposed to go back and do weddings.  You leave that for the new pastor, and stay out of the way.

 The last wedding at which I officiated was that of my youngest daughter.

I have always hoped that "Eve" would someday get married,  but I wasn't really sure I would ever live to see that!   Now, a wedding is scheduled to take place in early September.

Eve has been through so many huge changes and challenges this year.  If you looked at the list of the major life stresses,  she has had them all.  She has moved away from the area where she has lived her entire life, to move in with "Ivan".   It is only an hour away,  but still,  that is away.  She left the manager's job she had done for the past dozen or so years, working her way up. She sold her house and got rid of most of her worldly goods.   She was hospitalized with emergency surgery.  Her car died, and on and on the list goes.  Life has never been easy for Eve.  It is as if Eve and Struggles are joined at the hip. Yet, somehow, she always manages.  Hard work.  Perseverance.  Dedication.  Blood, sweat and tears.

Eve and Ivan's wedding will be at a state park, informal, perhaps a picnic, outside, with a reception in a pavilion---a simple celebration with family and friends.  Nothing fancy.  But a very happy occasion.

While I do not think that marriage necessarily makes the struggles to go away,  I am certainly most grateful that she will have someone with whom to share life's challenges,  someone who loves her and accepts her and appreciates her.  Having a supportive partner is so much better than having to do it all on your own!