She has always made me laugh--this daughter of mine--her spirit the exact opposite of melancholy. Even as a baby she was easy to be with.  She didn't cry much. Often, upon waking, I would go to her and there in the morning light she would stand, her baby hands grasping the side of her crib, bouncing and singing a song from some secret, sacred place of innocence--those mother moments that bring joy indescribable.

The years pass.  A blur sometimes with all of life's bittersweetness.  The pain.  The delight.  And all along this frothy, phosphorescent trajectory, my daughter has sung and turned her face to heaven.  And because she has looked upward to the One who knows her best, she has carried many people along with her in this wake of love, grace and joy--peers, children, family--and now possbily the most important, this darling husband to be, her beloved.

In a few weeks she will be married. The anticipation is mounting, the marriage celebration to be one of beauty and praise to God for bringing two such winsome people together.  And we will sing and rejoice.  We will dance.  We will delight in love.  We will observe the miracle of oneness in our midst. We will celebrate all the curves and arcs along the way that brought two people to the same bend in the road.  

And walking the path with another brings consolation as the world can be cold and wearying.  I pray you exquisite grace and the comforting solace of the Holy Spirit.  May our Lord Jesus be your place of quiet retreat as a couple.  May He invigorate you on the pilgrim way. May laughter be a constant.  May you never stop singing your love song.