Tomorrow My Son Gets Married
I have three sons – Daniel, Joshua, and David (who was stillborn). Daniel is getting married tomorrow. I will be doing the service.
Dan met Allie in Istanbul, Turkey, where they were both serving as Christian missionaries with Campus Crusade for Christ. I first met Allie when Linda, Josh and I visited Istanbul in Dec. 2005.
Dan graduated from MSU; Allie graduated from U-M. In their academic allegiances they are divided, but Dan and Allie share this: Jesus is their first love. As much as they had hoped to one day be married, I know for a fact that each would have forgone marriage if they felt that was what God wanted. I deeply admire them for that.
I love doing weddings. For me, they are always opportunities for God to speak to us all about life’s most important things. Many years ago I set my life priorities as follows:
1. God – loving him and advancing his kingdom
2. Linda – loving her as Christ loved the church and gave his life for her
3. My sons – loving them in many ways, to include turning down extra opportunities to make more income so I could raise them together with Linda and play with them, teach them, read to them, travel with them, pray with them…
4. In fourth place is: my “job” as a pastor, and my church
Way below the top 4 are things like my golf game, which suffered a tremendous blow when I met Linda 35 years ago.
I’m going to be emotional tomorrow. Even as I am writing this Linda and Dan are listening to that Andrea Bocelli song they will dance to. It’s not an easy thing, since the tears are flowing generously out of Linda’s eyes and I, being of strong Finnish descent, succeed in controlling the watery emotions inside. When they dance to this song I’ll probably need someone to pick me up off the ground.
My deep prayer is that they have a long, monogamous life together. There are so many character-builders and joys in a long life spent together. Such marriages become like iron sharpening iron. You get to know and be known by just one person – so intimately and authentically and transparently. You can’t get this by the essentially non-covenantal act of co-habiting, nor can you get it by the unanchored life of serial monogamy.
Dan and Allie - Linda and I will be with you tomorrow to gladly bless your covenant marriage. We love you.
(Here they are in front of the Blue Mosque in Istanbul.)
June 15th, 2007 at 4:13 pm
It’s a very special thing to have your father or father-in-law do your wedding service. My dad is a minister and he is the first person that my family members go to to arrange for baptisms, weddings and funerals. And he’s often been the preacher for major holiday services at his church.
Now, those of us who have a preacher in the family usually hear some very interesting sermons during these rituals and ceremonies! You never really know when the family preacher going to tell a story to the entire congregation about when one of us kids were little and … or the day my sister met her husband and …
June 15th, 2007 at 11:25 pm
Thank you for writing, Paula. I agree with you. For me this is a great honor. I’m thankful your father is a pastor, and that you are a PK.
June 16th, 2007 at 10:05 am
Congratulations today. I wish we could have been there. Please give my best to Linda, Dan, Allie and Josh.
June 16th, 2007 at 10:41 am
Thank you Debbie - we wish you were here today too! I just passed this on to Dan. We’re haviing the reception in our back yard. A lot of our church family is back there now helping set up. Blessings to you!
June 16th, 2007 at 3:11 pm
I know we are going to miss a great family celebration. Dan and Allie seem to truly be one of those couples who were made for one another. I’m going to miss seeing you go to pieces John. Congratulations to all.
Mike and Lorna
June 16th, 2007 at 11:02 pm
Hi Mike and Lorna - we missed you here! But we know you’re doing a very good thing in Illinois. Thanks for the blessing - we love you!
John