Beach, Bride and Bubbles

By Cathy Irvin
Staff Writer

CBN.com --Facing Tropical Storm Ernesto during a wedding ceremony on the beach this past Saturday, Sept. 2 was challenging to my faith. My daughter, granddaughter, the matron of honor (my daughter's aunt) and I ventured out to Fort Story to decorate the Club for the reception.

The torrential rain was beating down hard upon us. The winds were blowing, and the weather forecast for the next day called for a clearing, but another newscaster mentioned possible thunderstorms in the late afternoon.

“Lord, I am asking you for at least an open window in the afternoon at 5:30 (the ceremony time) and I trust You to show my daughter what to do,” I prayed.

The people who were catering from the Club told my daughter that she had until 2:30 pm the following afternoon to make the call on her decision to have the wedding inside or on the beach.

My daughter preferred that the wedding be held on the beach, yet hadn't anticipated the storm and sand blowing. I felt in my heart that the best decision was to have it inside since the Club was such a beautiful place to decorate for the ceremony. I held this in my heart in prayer and never said a word.

Don’t all mothers want their daughter’s weddings to be perfect? Are they all? Well, of course not, there are always problems with or without a wedding co-coordinator. There are always last minute changes, and sometimes weather conditions.

I left my corsage home and lost an earring. I walked down the runner with a borrowed pair of earrings that matched my necklace perfectly and used the throw away bouquet in place of my corsage. One of my closest friends of over 20 years helped me with final touches that afternoon, and she and I have both been a mistress of ceremony before, so things fell into place because God provides!

The ceremony was flawless, yet the wedding started late. Friends and family patiently and graciously waited. Patience is a virtue, so I guess God gave them all an extra dose that day.

Due to the delay, the groom made a decision to forfeit the pictures so the guests could eat. My son-in-law had intentionally planned to pass out disposable cameras, and there was also a video of the entire wedding ceremony.

I thought about two things that day. I thought about Christ and His bride, the church at the marriage supper feast in heaven. On that day it will really be the only perfect wedding. Secondly, I thought about how God answered my prayer. The wedding was held inside, although the weather was perfect. The guests were seated and, God was in control of it all. He alone gave my daughter and son-in-law wisdom in their decisions, and He gave them a beautiful day.

Jeremiah 29:11 says,

"For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future" (NIV).

He calms seas, holds back storms and gives peace to those who pray and ask. As the mother of the bride, I am grateful for His guidance towards His children. My daughter was a beautiful bride. She matched the beauty of the landscape. I glanced through the Bay windows and observed the pretty beach. It was a celebration and I will always remember the good times we all had, as the children laughed, when we danced and blew bubbles on the bride and groom.

Psalm 107:29 is a picture of what God had done that day:,

"He stilled the storm to a whisper; the waves of the sea were hushed" (NIV).

I prayed for God to have complete control, because He is the best wedding planner. In God’s word He says that He calmed the raging storms. He brought peace to troubled hearts, and so all we have to do is trust Him, and then we will find solitude in the everyday storms of life.