The wedding pictures have arrived. This photo won’t give you a close up of the newlyweds’ big smooch, though believe me, they were enjoying themselves. It won’t provide a good look at the wedding party, though I can attest to the loveliness of the bridesmaid and personal attendant as well as to the handsomeness of the groomsmen.
But it will maintain the young couple’s privacy, which is important to them. And you can see the beautiful woods that ringed the pavilion where they married. You can see my daughter, small and white, embraced by her tall groom. You can see the dresses and the vests glowing under the July sun, just as Anne hoped they would. You can see my sweet daughter and her new husband surrounded by friends and family we hope will walk with them throughout their lives, long after we are gone. You can see the leaps of young joy as the bride and groom kiss.
You can see much, but there is so much more the photograph doesn’t show – the challenges yet to come, the joys to be experienced and adventures to be shared, and the affirmation of God’s presence, through the every day happenings of life. Those things are waiting beyond the edges of the photograph, to be captured on another day, with a different lens.
But for today, this picture, this memory of the beginning of their life together, is enough.
It is more than enough.
It is joy.
