the night before the wedding: reflections on our evening with Emily.

We stood in the kitchen surrounding her.  There’s something so special about the bond of the sisterhood.  It was the night before she would marry her beloved and be called his.  I’ve been in and around weddings for awhile now, but something about this specific night hit me in a new way.

This crazy anticipation filled each of us; not just the bride, but all around her.  It was contagious.  We laid our hands on her and pleaded with our Dad to bless and bring favor, to protect and guide, to spur them on, to love and know love.  We prayed with excitement and joy and we interceded with sincerity.  We entrusted each of them and their marriage into the hands of our loving Father.  And all the while, during that holy moment, I couldn’t help but get overwhelmed with emotion.

A clear thought entered my mind.  This is us.

Desperate and giddy, we wait for our Bridegroom.  The wait has been long.  The preparations and stresses leading up to His arrival have been many.  The trials and joys have taken us on a journey, all leading up to this point.  The night before the wedding.  This is our reality as the Church.  The love I witness between my dear friend and her now husband is huge.  It made the anticipation for the wedding day great.  But standing in that kitchen, witnessing massive love, God opened my eyes to see that this was only a small taste of the love God has for His beloved Church.  All her faults.  All her failures.  And yet, He rejoices over his Bride.  She is not a bride He dreads to take as His own.  He cannot wait to sweep her away into perfect eternity and relationship.  Nothing much matters anymore except that tomorrow, the bride and groom will be united.

As much as my sisters and I dream of being pursued and won by a man who is pursuing God, my heart was so much more overcome by the depth of love by the ultimate Bridegroom; the One who designed us to know what love is and be drawn to it.

More than the excited betrothed, He waits for us.  And we for Him.  No matter what the preceding story entails, a beautiful day will come when Christ comes to take His Beloved home and we will know a love bigger than any other.  Until then, we see glimpses of God rejoicing over us, His Bride, reminding us that the day is drawing near.  The day when all the details fade and we are whole, known, and fully loved into perfection by our God.  Much like the planning of a big day, it’s the perspective of the greater to come that makes everything worth it.