I have been to many weddings over the years, mostly your typical American/traditional type of wedding with an occasional ceremony from a different culture or religion.  I have been to weddings where people get married for the first time or where people get married after divorce (our wedding was like that since JJ had been married once before).  Yesterday, I had the honor and privilege of attending a wedding that demonstrates that miracles still happen today.

The bride and groom have been friends of ours for the past several years.  They were married when we met them and we spent some time getting to know them in our church small group.  They hit a rough patch and ended up getting divorced.  It looked for a long while like they were both going to go their separate ways and “start over.”  Over the past year or so, they have found their way back together through much work and prayer, and were remarried yesterday.

Their wedding was beautiful, as weddings tend to be.  Her dress was white and he was in a tux.  She walked down the aisle behind the flower girls and carried a bouquet of flowers.  Her father gave her away.  The vows they exchanged could be the vows read at any typical wedding.  And yet, knowing their story and how they have worked to become a complete family again, listening to the vows and watching them make them all over again with renewed commitment, purpose and intention, was stunning and spectacular.

I am not one to cry at weddings, but was tearful a few times during their ceremony.  I was not the only one, as you could hear people sniffing their way through the entire ceremony.  And while the mechanics of the wedding itself were all very common and typical, this wedding goes in my personal history book as my favorite wedding to date.  I truly feel as though I watched a miracle take place in front of my eyes yesterday.  And what better place to experience one, since the first miracle took place at a wedding.

Confession – I like girlie movies.  Not exclusively, but I enjoy a good chick flick periodically.  JJ was away this weekend, so tonight I picked “Age of Adeline” from the DVR.

It was not until the very last scene of the movie (which I had seen previously) that something jumped out at me that I had not thought about the last time I saw the movie.  **Spoiler alert coming if you haven’t seen the movie and plan to do so.**  Adeline (who is back to being Adeline, her true identity, by the end of the movie) finds a gray hair when checking her reflection in the mirror, which indicates that she has resumed aging after an extended period of being perpetually about 29 years old for decades.  She has found love and will finally be able to have a future and“grow old” with him.

I have more white hair than I care to think about, which I color periodically so it doesn’t show.  Some of the gray strands take color well, but I have a few pure white hairs that don’t take color at all and remain white, even after a fresh dye job, that peak out at me when I brush my hair to remind me they are still there.  Hollywood has conditioned us (no pun intended, but I love it when that happens!) that we are to be ageless.  We are bombarded with ads for “anti-aging” products and taught that wrinkles and gray hair are bad.  At the end of the movie tonight, the thought that came to my mind is that there is no future and no opportunity for God’s plan for our lives to unfold without aging.  In order to move forward in time, the aging process is inevitable, and I dare say, critical, to walk out the journey of life.  Each year brings new experiences, new wisdom and new lessons that can only be learned at that point in your life.  I had a patient tell me one time to wear every wrinkle that I get with pride because I earned them.

Don’t get me wrong – I’m grateful (now- yes, Mom, you were right!) that I look younger than I am.  I have worried about getting older – your body changes, you can’t do everything as long or as fast as you could in your 20s – but tonight I have a fresh perspective on aging.  Maybe as our hair turns gray/white and your joints start to stiffen just a bit, that’s God’s way of slowing you down on purpose, now that you’re old enough and experienced enough to understand, apply and pass on the wisdom that he entrusts to you.  Proverbs 16:31 states (NIV): “Gray hair is a crown of splendor; it is attained in the way of righteousness.”  I want all that God has for me and His plan for my life, so a few gray/white hairs (at least for today it’s a few!) seems a small price to pay. But don’t be looking for me to give up my hair color any time soon!