They Do Grow Up

So, Cristina got married last night. To Brian. I like her. I like him. I like them together.

I've known her since she was 12. Her mom lived across the street then. She'd hang out and watch movies with us or eat the food in the youth cabinet.

I've been all over the world with her on mission trips. We built a church together in Mississippi. She taught sports camps in Holland. We built houses together for the poor in Juarez. She's since been on a couple of mission trips since then...doing her thing. The Great Wall was involved in one of them.

She was in my ministry from 6th grade through her graduation. She did it all. The Pine Cove trips. The ski trips. Involved in small groups each year. Led middle school small groups her junior and senior years. She was there when we moved from the old building to the new one and helped us through those growing pains.

It was nice to actually be needed by a kid, too. The whole ten years.

And all the hullaballoo that comes along with a wedding was a reunion of sorts. Lots of the former teens were around for this one, too. Ryan & Melissa. Jeremy & Lori. Lizzie (Wes had to work--and I mean HAD to work, or he'd have been there). Nathan. Tim. Maria. Heather. Christy & Josh. Steve & Mish. Matt & Liz. Meredith. Katherine (and beau Goliath/Daniel--even though I didn't get to visit with them). Kristy (and beau Marky Mark--even though I really didn't get to visit with them, either). Faith. Millard. Others I'll forget and they'll be mad. And, yes, it's a pretty surreal moment when there's champagne and wine and toasting and you're there with former students and you realize that they're all legal and now this is socially accepted behavior at weddings. It was nice seeing everybody again, that's for sure.

But seeing Cristina coming down the aisle with her dad.
Veil.
Bouquet.
Dress.
Smiling at Brian.

It seemed like one of those movie clips where all the pictures moved too fast and you couldn't see them all but they went through the whole lifetime of one of the characters to me.

The pictures moved too fast but I can freeze each one of them now.

Manalive do I love that kid.

*ahem*

Manalive do I love Mrs. Welch.

And the fact that she is Mrs. Welch. He'll love and serve her. She'll reciprocate. It'll work. And this makes me happy.

Happy beyond words.

And yes, I'm still a sucker for student ministry.

And yes, I'm still a sucker for weddings like last night's. Largely because they highlight "that kid" and everything that's good about my life.

I'm blessed beyond words.

Godspeed, Brian and Cristina. And thank you both for the reminder for everything good about my life.