A Family Wedding

The preacher said that morning, ‘Funerals are more joyous occasions
than weddings’. ‘Not our family wedding of March 2009’, my heart
resounded. Our wedding was all about the triumph of love in three
generations. The memories of loss, disappointment, betrayal,
disillusionment, and shed tears hidden in our depths; the struggles to
find meaning in our perceived failures, old arguments; all translated
into this explosion of love, connection and acceptance within our
family, between families, and even beyond. Our grand children, who
knew so little, and yet so much about these hidden things,
participated with their own unique sensing of inclusion and wonder
within this joy.
The groom asked me, ‘Can there be too much love?’ ‘No’, I confidently
answered from my head. In my heart I pondered this question for many
days. Can photos, momentos, and conversationa really keep the fulness
of that celebration alive? The responsibilities of life rush back in
and threaten to take over once again. They make us heavy and weighed
down.
My answer eventually came in the middle of the night. We keep it by
giving it away. It is not just ours to cherish alone. Each one of us,
sharing in the wonder of that joy, enriched by such love, can love our
family, our neighbour, the stranger at our door, with that extra depth
of acceptance, vulnerability, forgiveness when forgiveness is
required, hope, trust, and belief that love does conquer fear; that
darkness is bearable because there also is light. It re-shaped each
one of us, and the photos, momentos, and conversations will be the
ongoing reminders of all that is possible in human hearts.