This past weekend our middle daughter was married in a picturesque setting with fresh white snow during a bright and clear sunny Colorado day with friends and family witnessing the creation of the new family union. Tears and laughter intermingled with the realization that while something new was being formed, something that was once a new and welcome delight was fading away into the land of memories gone by that would exist now only in our minds and hearts, devoid forever of its original context.

The new had come, the old was done away with in that wonderful ceremony where two hearts were united. The metamorphosis of a cocooned caterpillar into a butterfly remains a vivid analogy of what we experienced at the wedding. A beautiful bride, a handsome groom, the two combining into something greater than either of them as single beings emerged to fly into the future that is filled with hopes, dreams, expectations and vigor.

Rachel and I, Ryan and Sasha witnessed it from our perspective as parents, but there were other perspectives just as vivid. Siblings, family members, friends and adult mentors filled the wedding atmosphere with their joy and acceptance of this union of two souls in Christian marriage. Vendors who supplied the necessary artifacts to celebrate the occasion openly expressed their approval and blessing over the event that they were happy and eager to support. It was a confluence of people that memorialized the event with their presence and a sharing that will be uniquely ours for as long as we live and remember.

It is the beginning of a venture that brings new hope, meaning and possibilities to the world in which they will live. “I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the growth (I Cor 3:6)” is analogous to the culmination of a wedding, the realization that there are factors beyond parental oversight of any one individual that converges to create this vital and unique union. I thank God for the growth I tangibly see in the ones who are the object of this wedding, and it provides renewed hope for the growth I do not yet see in other areas where God will work unseen and powerfully both in my life and the lives of each of the wedding guests.

Congratulations to the groom and bride, Tyler & Carisse Warrum! You have our support, our love and our shielding thoughts and prayers over your marriage union that we now provide to Brandon and Alicia, with the assurance that we will continue our support, love and fervent prayers for your two other siblings, Daniel and Katy.