A Wedding Before Easter

Yesterday was a beautiful day for a wedding.

The sun shone for hours.

As we crested the hill, the one with the cross on top, and rounded into the gravel drive that took us to the stables, the sky had turned cloudy. The wind was beginning to pick up.

We sat in the back so that one of us could quickly walk out with Mattie once the inevitable talking or crying began.

Another cross. adorned with flowers, hung as the backdrop to the altar.

The groom was standing up front as all the bridesmaids and groomsmen made their way down the aisle.

The two wooden doors shut.

Almost immediately there was a sound.

It grew louder.

I think everyone realized it at the same time.

It was raining, and it sounded like a downpour.

It kept coming.

The doors finally opened, slowly, and she was standing there with a radiant smile on her face.

She was the bride, and she was beautiful and happy. The smile wasn't forced or fake. She was glad!

It no longer mattered that it was raining.

The rain subsided moments after she entered.

It came back a few times as the night and the reception progressed. It was no more than a sprinkle here or there, but it didn't damper the spirits of the happy couple.

And in all that I kept thinking about that smile.

For when all eyes are looking upon you, the tone of what follows is set by you. When the rain comes, a smile may not stop it, but it does wonders for the perspective of those around you.

There may have been many a bride that would have cried. There would likely be some that would be angry. I probably would have been among these two groups.

Not this sweet girl.

She smiled, as she so often does, and walked down the aisle on the arm of her father and danced the night away with her groom.

And in that smile and after that wedding, I can't stop thinking about our responses in life and how a smile, despite the rain, can change the outlook of a whole lot of people.