I Am The Father of the Bride

So I am going to be father of the bride again. It is now less than a month away! It is my last time to do this. All three of my daughters will be married.

One of the things I have learned is that as a father you are never ready to see your daughter walk down the aisle. All daughters are most beautiful. All daughters are filled with anticipation. I will cry. Yes, I will be choking back the tears as I walk her down the aisle.

Planning the wedding is another matter. It is an adventure that one wants to do but one wants to survive. There are too many images of wedding in this world. There are too many dreams. There are never enough resources. There are more experts on weddings that one can ever want in life.

As a clergy person doing a wedding ceremony, it is a part of my job to calm the "experts" so that the bride has the wedding she dreamed of instead of what everyone else thinks she should have. There have been times that I have told aunts, uncles, best friends, mother in laws, etc. to just sit down and let go of their expectations. The only expert is the bride. It is her wedding.

Some pastors officiate at their daughter's weddings. I choose not to do this. This is a time when I am a father. The truth is that I could never do this anyway. I would cry during the whole time. So I will focus on being dad.

As a dad my job is to be quiet. It is hard for a dad to be quiet. It is even more difficult for a dad preacher to be quiet. But that is what I am learning to do. Or at least I am trying to do this. I want my daughter to have the wedding of her dreams. More importantly I want her to have the marriage she has dreamed having.

So I have decided to be the father of the bride who is also a pastor. What does that mean? I have been in constant prayer for my daughter, Miranda and her fiancé, Keith. I have prayed each day for their happiness and love to grow. I have prayed for Mandy and me to relax enough to enjoy being the parents of the bride. I have prayed for the grandkids to make it down aisle in peace (Little children are a challenge in a weddings).

Weddings are a gift from God. It is an opportunity to celebrate family and friends. It is a time to receive the wonderful gift of God. For me it is a time of being the father of the bride!

Pray for me as I pray for you.