on celebrations

We were out of town already, spending the weekend celebrating the union of two dear friends.

They were married atop a hill steeped in sunlight and surrounded by the greenest of trees. Trees that bent and swayed in the strong May wind.

We danced after dark and then sent them off on their way, sparklers and sizzling fire waved high in the night air to wish them well on the rest of life together.

And all through the set-up and celebration, the tear-down and clean-up, He and I reminisced about our own memorial day weekend last year, remembering the bright lights and loud music. The heat we had not expected and the sheer loveliness we (and a crew of others) had worked so hard to create.

The celebration is truly all about the marriage--two becoming one--and less about the actual party.

But its a true blessing when the wedding and reception turn out exactly as you'd hoped.

A year later, in a different city, feeling giddy at the chance to spend a night or two away, we toasted this full year of marriage, drinking Cabernet Sauvignon from a bottle that B. had saved us from our own reception a year ago. She handed us the hidden bottle before we left town. A dear surprise.

Raising our glasses to the shining lights of Pittsburgh, we stared out our window at the gleaming river, listening to the echoes of tireless engines and sweet city life on a Sunday night.

God has blessed us richly this past year, and we are so thankful to him for his provision.

Here is to many years more.

xo