And everything will be alright”
--P!nk
Their wedding was one of the first in a season of life that saw more rented tuxedos than games in a baseball season. My dear friends, Ed and Teri, threw a very memorable wedding. Not just because I was a groomsman, but also because their ceremony landed on the Saturday of the Final Four. Michigan’s Fab Five was playing Kentucky with hopes of returning to the national championship game. The bridesmaid with which I paired didn’t dance due to denominational restrictions, so I was able to spend much of the reception watching the game in the hotel cantina.
Michigan won in time for me to make it back on the dance floor for the garter toss.
Last month I met up with Ed and Teri at another wedding, that of their lovely daughter, Jerilyn. The ceremony was outside, on an ocean-view golf course in San Clemente. Upon arrival, Beautiful Karla and I quickly spotted the bride, off to the side, making last-minute gown and makeup adjustments. Heading to our seats, we found Teri, looking as calm and splendid as any mother of the bride could possibly be.
But where was Ed? Then the significance of the moment hit me like a five iron to the forehead. He had a job. He was going to be walking the bride down the aisle. He’s the first of my friends to have this honor. I had moved into a new wedding-attendance category. I wasn’t attending as a friend of the bride or groom; I was there as a friend of the … parents.
Mid-September will be the 18-month mark since our lives came to a screeching halt thanks to Covid-19. Here in sunny southern California, we’ve been locked down, opened, closed again, and reopened with restrictions. We were even granted a whole month without having to wear a mask indoors.
The effect the disease has had on lives around the globe has been profoundly tragic. The loss of life has been monumental. The economic impact has been equally staggering. Meanwhile, riots raged across the country from Seattle’s Capitol Hill to the Capitol Building in Washington, DC. Political tension ruled the land. And fires, floods, hurricanes, and earthquakes didn’t take a hiatus for the pandemic. Sometimes it seems as if the bad news is as consistent as the tides.
And yet the Earth kept spinning amid all the tragedy, and good things continued to happen. Beautiful things.
Sunrises and sunsets appeared in painted precision.
Planted seeds sprouted and bore fruit.
Somewhere, not here, a proportionate amount of rain nurtured the land.
Babies were born.
People ran errands for their neighbors.
The folks on our street met for church on the curb.
Medical professionals gave full measures of devotion and care for the sick.
I learned how to use Google Classroom.
And couples fell in love.
Couples like Kirk and Jerilyn.
Dating and relationships are seldom easy outside the scope of a pandemic. I couldn’t imagine what navigating young love was like in 2020. Kirk and Jerilyn met late in 2019 in Colorado. They struggled to find time to be together while juggling full college course loads and part-time jobs. In February 2020, their school sent everybody home. If Jerilyn were to return to California, it would mean their budding relationship would go the long-distance route.
Wanting to avoid a setback, they opted for almost the shortest-distance relationship as possible. Kirk moved home with his folks and Jerilyn settled in with Kirk’s sister, who lived two houses away. Then the world shutdown. The young couple, no longer trying to squeeze out a few precious hours to hang out, now had an abundance of time to get to know each other. They cooked, hiked, watched movies, and studied together.
Suddenly their relationship was able to grow at a super-sonic speed. All that time together gave them insights into each other that hadn’t been discovered yet. The lockdown also gave them time to rapidly discover their values and priorities. On the flip side, Covid also provided instant access to the sides of themselves that the other hadn’t seen before.
They initially planned on dating for three years, but time is short during a global pandemic. Three years became 10 months. Then came the challenge of planning a wedding during Covid.
Would their venue of choice be available? Would they be able to keep their guest list intact? Ever-changing state regulations and mandates kept them guessing.
Oh, by the way, Cupid struck again in 2020. One of my most esteemed friends, after waiting for decades, found his one true love during Covid. His ceremony is next month. Beautiful Karla and I will be there, back in our places as guests of the groom.
Who knows what will be taking place on the Covid timeline in six weeks when his wedding day arrives. We might be reading about the next Greek-lettered variant. I might be teaching from home again. But on that night in October, I’ll be remembering that the earth is still spinning, the sun is still shinning, beautiful things are still happening, and my Father in heaven is still sovereign.
And I’ll do my best to not check any baseball scores.
