It's Saturday Night. It's 7:00PM. Do You Know Where Your Pastor Is?
Really, what he needed was a key.
Oh, yeah. And the alarm code.
Turns out that our church building is locked and the alarm set after the cleaning service leaves on Saturday nights. Turns out that I have both a key and the alarm code.
He loves her. And he had reason to believe that the feeling was reciprocated. So much so that he chose to buy her a diamond and ask her a question of life-changing significance: "Will you marry me?"
Now, even to this minute I'm not exactly sure what his motivation was to use our church building to ask such a significant question. I've gathered that part of his preliminary remarks to her let her in on his rationale. I don't know if I'll hear about it or not and I'm not sure it matters if I don't. What I know is that our church building was part of the plan...right after such things as securing her parent's blessing and actually buying the ring.
And what I also know is that since I have both the key and the alarm code I'd need to be there at 6PM. Sharp. I was.
I arrived with a couple of others who were in on the plan. They were assisting with some lighting and some pyrotechnic work that might be needed should she say "yes" in response to such a significant question. While I don't know of very many guys who would ask such a significant question if they anticipated a negative response, there's usually a small fear in the back of a guy's brain that she might say "no." The best guess I have as to why that small fear is there is that I think most guys really can't believe a girl like her would marry a guy like him. We know ourselves and we know how great the girl is. (This is why he's walking around today truly believing he's the most blessed guy on the planet.) Hence, small fear. Hence, the guy let us in on a potential change in the evening's plans if the night didn't go as anticipated. We all knew it would go as planned so we didn't take it seriously.
Anyway, back to the key and the alarm code. I let them in and the worker bees did their thing.
A phone call was made to get her to the church unsuspecting, and, since I didn't have anything else to do, I waited in the field with the pyrotechnicians and made jokes with them while we waited.
The plan went off without a hitch. She did indeed say, "yes" in response to a very significant question. Three of the four pyrotechnic displays went off without a hitch, also. The fourth did go off after a minor & quickly corrected hitch.
And the happy couple was off to a celebratory dinner with family and friends.
And, afterward, while I was putting to use the key and code for the final time of the night, I started thinking...
...I've known those worker bees for 10 years.
...I've performed part of the wedding ceremony for two of them.
...I've been on mission trips with them. Several, in fact.
...I've known the soon-to-be groom through an association with the Christian camp he worked for.
...I've watched the soon-to-be bride grow spiritually from middle school to where she is now.
...I've been watching the parents of one worker bee and the soon-to-be bride like hawks for nearly a decade now. They do the parenting thing to the degree they might want to write a book about the subject.
...I've watched the worker bees and the couple go on ski trips together, mission trips together, camp together, sit in church together, hang out at each other's houses together, go on double & triple & quadruple dates together, and the whole thing.
They might've just needed a key and an alarm code. And now they'll start taking active steps toward planning a ceremony that will start their lives together.
And I might've just needed a reminder that this was one more step in doing life together. Which is precisely why a 41 year-old grown-up will sit in a field with two friends half his age (and still doesn't trust with lighters) on a chilly Saturday night waiting for a signal that she'd said "yes" in response to a significant question.
Life together. With people you love.
Really love.
And I have no idea why most pastors don't stick around churches for long periods of time. This is the stuff they miss out on. And, really, it's the best of the stuff.
Life together. With people you love.
Really love.
Really, what he needed was a key.
Oh, yeah. And the alarm code.
Turns out that our church building is locked and the alarm set after the cleaning service leaves on Saturday nights. Turns out that I have both a key and the alarm code.
He loves her. And he had reason to believe that the feeling was reciprocated. So much so that he chose to buy her a diamond and ask her a question of life-changing significance: "Will you marry me?"
Now, even to this minute I'm not exactly sure what his motivation was to use our church building to ask such a significant question. I've gathered that part of his preliminary remarks to her let her in on his rationale. I don't know if I'll hear about it or not and I'm not sure it matters if I don't. What I know is that our church building was part of the plan...right after such things as securing her parent's blessing and actually buying the ring.
And what I also know is that since I have both the key and the alarm code I'd need to be there at 6PM. Sharp. I was.
I arrived with a couple of others who were in on the plan. They were assisting with some lighting and some pyrotechnic work that might be needed should she say "yes" in response to such a significant question. While I don't know of very many guys who would ask such a significant question if they anticipated a negative response, there's usually a small fear in the back of a guy's brain that she might say "no." The best guess I have as to why that small fear is there is that I think most guys really can't believe a girl like her would marry a guy like him. We know ourselves and we know how great the girl is. (This is why he's walking around today truly believing he's the most blessed guy on the planet.) Hence, small fear. Hence, the guy let us in on a potential change in the evening's plans if the night didn't go as anticipated. We all knew it would go as planned so we didn't take it seriously.
Anyway, back to the key and the alarm code. I let them in and the worker bees did their thing.
A phone call was made to get her to the church unsuspecting, and, since I didn't have anything else to do, I waited in the field with the pyrotechnicians and made jokes with them while we waited.
The plan went off without a hitch. She did indeed say, "yes" in response to a very significant question. Three of the four pyrotechnic displays went off without a hitch, also. The fourth did go off after a minor & quickly corrected hitch.
And the happy couple was off to a celebratory dinner with family and friends.
And, afterward, while I was putting to use the key and code for the final time of the night, I started thinking...
...I've known those worker bees for 10 years.
...I've performed part of the wedding ceremony for two of them.
...I've been on mission trips with them. Several, in fact.
...I've known the soon-to-be groom through an association with the Christian camp he worked for.
...I've watched the soon-to-be bride grow spiritually from middle school to where she is now.
...I've been watching the parents of one worker bee and the soon-to-be bride like hawks for nearly a decade now. They do the parenting thing to the degree they might want to write a book about the subject.
...I've watched the worker bees and the couple go on ski trips together, mission trips together, camp together, sit in church together, hang out at each other's houses together, go on double & triple & quadruple dates together, and the whole thing.
They might've just needed a key and an alarm code. And now they'll start taking active steps toward planning a ceremony that will start their lives together.
And I might've just needed a reminder that this was one more step in doing life together. Which is precisely why a 41 year-old grown-up will sit in a field with two friends half his age (and still doesn't trust with lighters) on a chilly Saturday night waiting for a signal that she'd said "yes" in response to a significant question.
Life together. With people you love.
Really love.
And I have no idea why most pastors don't stick around churches for long periods of time. This is the stuff they miss out on. And, really, it's the best of the stuff.
Life together. With people you love.
Really love.
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