You all who are healthy out there listen up:  you got it good!

I finally had an evening that was nearly normal for most of it and it was indeed good!  Celebrating the wedding of the son of some friends of ours seems like an ordinary part of life to most of us.  The story went  like this:

We met our friends’ kid as a teenager, he fell in love and 3 years later, we were invited to a magnificent wedding banquet in the quaint Heritage Barn out in the country!  My husband Steve and I gratefully got one of the few invitations to the wedding.  We enjoyed holding hands together during the ceremony, gazing deeply into each other’s eyes from time to time while reminiscing own wedding vows not too long ago.  Shortly thereafter we were seated at our assigned place setting in the adjacent hall; a lovely table arrangement of hydrangeas nearly blocked the view of the other guests yet set the stage for a candlelit dinner as night fell softly outside.  The food was delicious and probably even tasted better because of the 3 -piece string ensemble filling the air with classical genre fit for a king.  The newlyweds smooched with a ring of a cow bell and as the mother of the groom squirmed.  All was well with the world.   White-on-white flowered wedding cake followed for the guests in the dance hall, followed by traditional ballroom dancing and some rip-roaring square dancing too!  The building was a refurbished barn so ’tis fitting to end the magical evening with barn dancing for young and old alike.   The couple later departed through a canopy of floating rose petals then drove off in a “smart car” just large enough to contain her wedding gown!  The night ended as the full moon shined through the thin cloud cover of the crisp evening sky.  Congratulations Brock and Hannah!  Your new life together has begun.

On the way home I realized that only once during the entire ceremony and reception was I aware that I am battling a devastating disease that could take years to beat.  Only for a moment did I wonder if I would find anything to eat from the dinner buffet that would match my Candida Diet requirements; the al dante’ green beans and baked chicken breasts would satisfy my hunger just fine.  Only once did I leave the dance hall to retreat to the stone fire circle where a bonfire covered me with as much warmth as my coat might have but it was in the car parked somewhere in the field beyond.  Only once did I wonder if the music was too loud for me only to realize that I would not be having seizure attacks upon returning to the car at the end of the evening.  The usual noxious after-affects of too much sensory stimulation, having not enough food that I could eat, smoke from the bonfire, sitting in an old restored building, and being out late would not bother me very much at all.

Wow.  You who are healthy and never think about such things got it good!  And tonight, so did I!

Thank you Jesus for an edifying wedding ceremony that focused as much on your sacrifice and saving grace as the wedding nuptials of two of your precious children.  Thank you Lord for working out so many details through the work of so many people and your Holy Spirit to bring such a lovely wedding ceremony together for all of us to enjoy.  Thank you my Jesus for allowing me to experience the wonderful fellowship of our friends in Christ as we celebrated this wedding tonight.  I am humbled and grateful for this afternoon and evening.   This taste of goodness reminds me of Your goodness.  It was and is just the right encouragement I need to keep going when the times are more difficult.  For your glory and in Your name I pray.  Amen.