Last weekend was to be the wedding that should have been. Last year, in the midst of the pandemic, our granddaughter and her soulmate since high school got married. Two years of planning had gone into this great family celebration, only to be muted and truncated by a tiny little virus. The June, 2020 wedding was lovely; outdoors, with parents and siblings present. Everyone else got to see the video. But missing were the good friends and extended family members. Immediately planning began for a gala repeat in August of 2021, after COVID-19 would be a bad memory.

As grandparents, we were invited to take part in everything: the rehearsal and subsequent dinner, photo-taking, the wedding ceremony, and the reception. We traveled the two hundred eighty-five miles to Springfield; two sets of grandparents in one car, eager to see and embrace family members, some of whom we’d not seen for nearly two years. We checked in to the motel around three o’clock to rest up, freshen up and change for the rehearsal at six o’clock.

Ten minutes before six, we received a text; the father of the bride (our son-in-law) had just tested positive for COVID-19. “Now what?”, I texted back. “Masks all around and carry on?” No, he had to isolate. But what about the people who were in the house with him? What about all the guests who had flown in or driven in? We held our breath, then plunged in. At the rehearsal, those in the know wore masks, others wore puzzled looks at the masked celebrants, then scrambled to find masks of their own. The tables at the rehearsal dinner were quickly re-arranged: “exposed” and “not exposed”.The father of the bride participated via FaceTime, everyone waved at him. The bride cried.

The next day the bridal party, family and friends gathered at a park where the wedding photos were taken, an hour-long ordeal on a hot Saturday afternoon. It was all very organized, there was a list of individuals who were to be in each photo. We marched in and out according to instructions. And the Dad was not in any single photo. It was then that I began to wonder if the photographer could “photoshop” the Dad in later. (It must have been the heat.)

Later, the re-wedding took place. After the groom and bridal party processed in, we all stood to watch the bride enter, without her father at her side. The ceremony was beautiful, the Pastor skillfully weaving in the “Part One” and “Part Two” aspects of the occasion, and acknowledging the bitter with the sweet. The bride cried.

Everyone then gathered at the reception venue to await the newly re-wed couple. Glasses were raised, friends and family embraced (virus be damned!) and seating arrangements did not change. Everyone cheered as the bridal party entered, music blared, and the meal began. Little children danced as we all laughed and talked. The missing Dad again participated via FaceTime.

I mentioned to our daughter, who of course arranged everything, that one thing was missing from the carefully planned event: “The dismissal of seniors procession” where we old folks could be recognized as we marched out before the real party began. Instead, we bid our quiet farewells, and left the party. The next morning, we left Springfield to return home, quietly contemplating the beautiful and not-quite perfect event we’d looked forward to for so long.

The next day, I texted our granddaughter, “I will someday ask God why your Dad tested positive for C-19. But it think it serves to remind us that even our greatest joys in this life are tempered with sorrow. Your Dad will recover, and one day all our sorrows will cease, and we will have peace and unending joy. Love you!”

Revelation 21:3-4 (ESV) And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God. He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.”