The wedding was planned for Sept. 18, and the groom had waited six years to marry his bride.
The bride’s father was reluctant to give his daughter in marriage to a young man who he felt would not provide his daughter with the type of living which she had been used to.
The young man was in love and tried first one job and then another. He did yard work and then pool service. Nothing seemed to satisfy the father of the girl he was in love with.
Then this year he got a job with FedEx and it guaranteed health insurance and a steady income over a long term with pay raises. The father could not hold out any longer and grudgingly gave his permission for the young couple to be married.
Invitations were sent out to everyone both near and far. Family would be arriving from Florida, Georgia, Illinois. There is a lot of planning, and a lot of food, and other expenses. Two Airbnb houses were rented for two nights which would accommodated two dozen people and maybe more with little kids.
The relatives from Florida arrived first with a mother and her four kids. Other members of the family were on the way.
Then, suddenly, there was a terrible note sent out to all the wedding guests.
The bride and the mother of the bride had caught COVID-19. Both were unvaccinated at the time. The mother was in such serious condition that she might not survive.
The wedding was cancelled but all the guests had flight reservations and many had taken off work. There was just no way to put off all the planned arrivals so the family decided to turn the event into a family reunion.
It started with a cloud over the heads of all of the wedding guests. However, the mother of the bride got better, and so did the bride. The wedding guests started making plans to see the Redwoods by Crescent City on the northern coast of California.
Meals were all planned so that was no problem and the crock pot was put to use. Pulled pork the first night, big ham next. Tons of pancakes and eggs, and lots of fruit and snacks.
The trip to the Redwoods turned out to be terrific as the kids used the giant trees as jungle gyms and came home so dirty they had to be stripped at the door and put straight into a hot tub.
Family gatherings and games were special. Everyone knew each other, or soon they did, and everyone could feel at ease because they were family and accepted.
Plans for another wedding date were made but not certain as the father wanted to put off things until the spring or summer. The groom begged him not to, as he had waited so long.
The week ended as all the guests loaded up in cars and planes and went their separate ways.
The families of both the bride to be and groom to be were both very religious, and there were members who said that in some way, God had decided to delay the wedding, and it was his doing that caused the bride and bride’s mother to get COVID-19.
Others felt differently.
Some recognized that God did give mankind the gift of choice, and the ability to make good decisions.