Father-in-law

Well I take on a new title today, father in law. It's much like following your wife through a pregnancy and all of a sudden a child appears, and someone says your a father and your world has in a moment changed forever.
It was a beautiful wedding. Seven bridesmaid, seven groomsmen, attendants and flower girls and ring bearers and ushers, photographers, and videographers it was a crowded room in a unbelievably adorned church all before a sanctuary filled with grandparents, parents, aunts, uncles, cousins, siblings, and hundreds of others to be named later.

Brock and Miranda photo by Kelly Sandstedt

The thing that brought it all together though was the pastor. A missionary from the Philippines that flew halfway round the world to perform this sacred ceremony between man and woman. What makes a guy like this so special? He was once a youth pastor in the church where the bride and groom attended during their high school years, he gave them religious guidance but much more than that he gave them friendship, a bond that followed them though college and more. Why did this man become the defining factor in what was the most beautiful wedding ceremony the world has seen in this century? (I was married in the last century so I can say this without getting into trouble.) He loved the two people he came to marry; it showed in his sermon, it showed in his touch, and it showed when he became choked up when the vows written by the bride and groom were said. In a world where most senior pastors preform this ceremony for people they barely know, this was truly a blessing from God to the now married couple. He spoke of knowing them as children, how he watched them grow separately and together of the hardships they shared with him and how they always made smart and right decisions along the way. As he said this, I knew he was right, and they proved it by making a smart decision to chose this man to do their wedding. He was loving and compassionate, he knew them like no one else would, he told their story. He prayed with them silently and rejoiced with them loudly. This Pastor Jerome Sack, did it not for money or personal gain of any kind, he did it because it was right, for him and them. They love him and he loves them, this is what a wedding should always be like.
I sat there in my tux, looking older than I had only minutes before, tears welled in my eyes. I felt great pride. This couple belongs together but not only that, they showed the world what a true love relationship should be. After 9 long years of being together from childhood to adult, this is only the beginning for them. They turned in traditional style, kissed and were introduced as Mr. and Mrs. Brock Andrew Smith.
Now it is a new beginning for me. I am a father-in-law. I have a new child and she is beautiful. My wife and I will love her and cherish her as we have the four that came before her. In the years to come she plans to change my title again to grandparent and I am more than okay with that.
We left the church and made it to the reception hall. The wedding party left by limo and would arrive to join us an hour later. They were introduced one by one, the first to the show were the ushers who led all into the church as the music played and they danced their way in; one did a round house into a back flip and the party was on.
Much of the rest of the night was a blur. Not because I consumed more alcohol than I should have (I did) but because the pats on the back came, the congratulations on the fine wedding and the fine children that were the object of it all. It was amazing how it all came together, the number of people it took and how two families that barely know each other yet could join as one to make it a spectacular evening for all. As is the case with all weddings, the older crowd gave way to the younger crowd as the evening progressed. (Not sure when it happened but I am now part of the older crowd) The dance floor was wall to wall people in the early evening but by the late late evening only the diehards persisted.
The time had come to take it all down and put it away. The decorations were stored. The leftover food was boxed for another day. We took out the trash and turned out the lights. The day was done, and it was good. There were a few bumps along the way but that is a story for another day. Right now, it was the perfect wedding day. Congratulations to my son Brock and his new bride Miranda.  I am proud to call him son and her daughter-in-law. I hope I stand the test of time as a good father-in-law.
More about me here: Adventures of a Handyman (handymanadventures.blogspot.com)