Grace and Jeremy’s Rehearsal

Several weeks ago our daughter Grace got married in Pennsylvania. The wedding celebration was spectacular! The beautiful fall foliage and the relaxing ranch venue made for a perfectly memorable event and some great pictures too. Sadly, the day before the wedding wasn’t quite as glorious. Monsoon- style rains in Dallas prevented several of the girls in the bridal party (including our daughter Joy, who was maid-of-honor) from getting to the rehearsal the day before the wedding.

Grace felt both sad and disappointed. Her heart was set on having a special time with all her bridesmaids at the rehearsal dinner. Her perfect picture of what she always dreamed of for the rehearsal dinner had to be adjusted. We all needed to step back and look at the bigger picture, remembering that this weekend wasn’t about the rehearsal, it was about the wedding! Ultimately, it was the celebration of her marriage to Jeremy that really mattered.

Sometimes, we need that same perspective when it comes to the disappointments and difficulties in life. When our perfect picture of what we thought life should look like gets rearranged, it is important for us to view the bigger and broader picture, remembering that there is a better day coming. The apostle Paul put it best when he wrote:

We do not lose heart. Though our outer self is wasting away, our inner self is being renewed day by day.  For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, as we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal. 2 Corinthians 4: 16-18

 Perspective is everything! May we step back and view our circumstances in light of eternity and remember that this life is simply the rehearsal for the next. What really matters is yet to come as we look forward to the great and glorious day described in Revelation – the Marriage Supper of the Lamb. Let’s choose to keep our eyes on that day as we face the challenges of this day.