A Most Beautiful Day

This morning, as I stepped out of my car to walk across the parking lot to the church office, I was suddenly overwhelmed with the feeling that this must be the most beautiful day that ever has been. The air was crisp and cool, the sun was shining brilliantly, highlighting the colors of autumn that seem to be at their peak. I had forgotten how beautiful fall can be, and I’ve been awed by the dazzling display of God’s creation even as it prepares to sleep through the winter. Could a day be any more glorious?

I don’t think, however, that it was just the weather that had me in such an elated mood. This morning as I awoke, I fumbled on my bedside table (not really a table, but a storage trunk that supports a lamp and several books) for my glasses, and discovered a handmade card placed there the night before by my bride. As I had crashed early, she had stayed up to make me a card to let me know that she still does not regret marrying me ten years ago today. I put on the coffee and returned to bed; soon, our Jeremy and Jonathan were up and piled in with us. Lying there with my family, I thought back to our wedding day ten short years ago and realized that, on that day, I could never imagine how richly God would bless me between that day and this one.

That day, itself, was a most beautiful day. One of our best memories was going to the “Parks and Gardens” near Accra, Ghana to collect bougainvillea and palm branches to decorate our outdoor wedding chapel on the McVey’s front lawn. We were joined that day with many friends to celebrate – friends from Benin, Togo, and Ghana. The youth group from the Amasaman church sang as the guests arrived, and our missionary friends sang during the ceremony itself.

Like all good African events, the wedding got off to a late start. Papa Christian Nsoah, who was to give Maureen in marriage, was late. His wife, Sister Lizzie, who was preparing the food for our guests, had fallen seriously ill. But finally he did arrive—with the food that their daughters and neighbors had helped prepare --and then came the bride—and never has a groom felt so proud. Could a day be any more glorious?

It was a wedding day that both of us had longed for and anticipated for many years. But on that day, we really had no idea what our lives together would be like, how richly we would be blessed in the years ahead. And I’m confident that today, ten years later, we still await blessings--levels of knowing and being known--that are yet to unfold.

It reminds me of yet another beautiful day, a wedding day, for which we eagerly await. Could a day be any more glorious? I think that maybe it could. Because even when that day arrives, we will not yet know all that is to be experienced as our intimate relationship with Jesus grows even deeper. I think that heaven, like my marriage to Maureen, will just keep getting better.

Happy Anniversary, Daa. I love you.