Dave's Deep Thoughts

Here's Pastor Dave McDowell's weekly devotional that he sends out to members of his church. Dave is my brother and serves as the Music Minister at Stewartstown UMC in PA.

The Wedding Part 1

The old saying is that if it rains on your wedding day,

you will have good fortune in your marriage.

If that is true,

then this couple is in for a GREAT marriage..........

It was a Friday in July,

at 3:30pm,

an unusual time for a wedding.

It also happened to be during the worst heat wave

of the summer.

That Friday was predicted to be the hottest day

of the heat wave, possibly 103 degrees.

The wedding was to be held outdoors.

As a kindness,

I offered the couple the air conditioned church sanctuary

as an alternative.

With the elderly and the young attending the wedding,

I wanted everyone to be safe.

The couple was grateful for the invite,

but declined.

On the day of the wedding,

the forecaster said that it indeed

would be well over 100 degrees.

It was going to be so hot that he said,

that it could not rain.

The conditions were not conducive

for any rain to develop.

If by chance a storm cropped up,

it would be extremely isolated and brief.

At 3:25pm the bride arrived.

I went to the car to greet her

and to have prayer with her and her party.

I looked up and saw very dark clouds suddenly appearing on the horizon.

I told the bride that it looked like it was going to rain,

that perhaps we should wait for the storm to pass.

She declined...she was ready to be married.

The bridal party assembled under a pavillion.

The groom's party followed me onto an exposed deck.

On cue, as the music began,

so did the rain.

It was light, at first,

and at 103 degrees,

it felt refreshing.

As the couple met,

there was laughter.....

they were ready to be married

rain or sunshine.

As the service progressed,

the rain increased.

Makeup was beginning to run,

flowers were beginning to droop,

and hair was starting to lose it's curl.

I had 4 pages of the wedding service.

By page two, I was unable to turn to page three.

because it was matted together.

Time to wing it.....

I made a mental note to switch meteorologists

as this impossible rain,

was now becoming a sustained rain.

It was also time for the thunder and lightning to commence.

BOOM!

The first crack of thunder echoed.

Because the storm was behind me,

I had no sense of knowing how close the lightning was to us.

I looked into the eyes of the congregants

to see if their fear level would tell me if this wedding was about to become a funeral

If there eyes opened wide enough,

I knew it was going to be time to run for cover.

Let me say,

there is nothing like a few lightning bolts

to prompt a pastor to move more quickly.

A 5 minute prepared message quickly became condensed to a paragraph.

Time to get to the vows.

The vows had been printed on page three of my liturgy.....

but they were now welded to the back of page two.

It was time to see if I had the vows memorized.

BOOM!

That was closer.

The rain was now steady.

Flower girls were beginning to cry

and ring bearers were looking for a hand to hold.

Exchange of rings.....

As I held the metal rings up to bless them,

I prayed that I was not becoming a human lightning rod.

BOOM!!!

The quickest blessing prayer that I have ever offered in 15 years.

I now present to you for the first time,

Mr. and Mrs. .......BOOM!!!!

When God speaks,

don't interrupt Him.

I instructed the congregation to follow the couple

back the aisle and gather under the pavillion.

Somehow, I think the lightning bolt crackling way too close behind me

sent the same message with fewer words.

When we got under the pavillion,

it was then that this "impossible rain" turned into a monsoon.

The wind also picked up,

so much that the rain was now blowing sideways into the pavillion.

Nothing was spared.

Everything on the reception tables flew away....

centerpieces, silverware, tablecloths

With the rain pounding the metal roof,

and the rain blowing sideways,

it sounded and felt like we were on the Titanic in the last few moments.

I thought for a moment about emulating the pastor in the epic scene of that movie,

quoting from Revelations as people were at a 45 degree angle....

"there shall no longer be any mourning, or crying, or pain;

for the first things have passed away"

I opted not to do so.

Former things might be passing away,

but this storm was not.

The "impossible rain" lasted an hour.

At 4:30, the rain finally stopped.

And you know what happened?

........a party ensued.

Yes, centerpieces had been blown into the next county,

plastic silverware had to be found to replace the original,

and carefully made table favors had long since become trash on the concrete floor.

But a party ensued.

For a man a woman had come together and made a life covenant with their God.

By storm's end, the temperature had dropped to a very comfortable 83 degrees,

And there was food, drink, dancing, and merriment.

Life is filled with storms that pop up on the horizon.

Sometimes we can see them coming.

Other times we can't.

But to those who trust in God's promises,

it's not so much the storm that defines us,

it's whether or not we choose to have a party afterwards.

May your life storms always be followed

by the celebration that comes from knowing

you are held in the palm of God's hand.

Though many forget you,

I will not forget you.

Behold, I have inscribed you,

on the palm of My hands.

Isaiah 49:15b-16

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