I had been preparing for this moment over the past year, but especially over the past couple of months. I didn’t want to cry. Another son’s wedding date was drawing near, and I had been getting a bit emotional.
I always get excited for my kids as they gain their independence. I love hearing about their exciting plans, and by the grace of God, every single one of them has turned out to be a wonderful individual who I am proud of. So, I’m not quite sure why I get weepy as my kids leave home. I don’t want them to live at home forever, but for some reason I still get sad when they move out.
I am happy that Joshua has found a sweet and godly woman who loves him as much as he loves her. I am proud of the loving, caring and godly man that he has become. He has made wise and responsible decisions and has proven himself ready to take care of himself and his new wife. So, these teary-eyed moments that I was experiencing just didn’t seem to make sense.
My husband and I had done our part to the best of our ability. We had taught him to take care of himself. We had instructed him in what is right and wrong. We had encouraged him to follow his heart’s desire and to use the gifts and passions that God gave him. We had advised him to seek God first and let God take care of the rest. As parents, there was nothing left for us to do except to pray and entrust him to God.
Those of us who raised Joshua and Abby stole a moment before the ceremony to take them aside one at a time and pray over each of them. We released them to Him and to each other. They were never really ours to keep anyway. God had simply put arranged for us to be the ones to love them, to care for them, to teach them what it means to follow Him and to prepare them for this day and the days to come. We shed a few tears as we prayed and then pulled ourselves together.
After praying, we left our children and waited at the back of a crowded room. This was it. The time had come. The music began playing. The grandparents wiped their tears and were ushered to their places. It was our turn to enter. My lips started to quiver, but I was determined not to cry during the ceremony. I especially didn’t want to cry during the mother and son dance.
Joshua walked me to my seat, hugged me, embraced his dad and left us so that he could stand before God and begin a new life with Abby. I watched his face as he waited for his bride to walk down the staircase. His eyes still sparkled like they did the day he was born. For a brief moment, I saw that little boy in his striped engineer hat and red bandana. Wasn’t it just yesterday that I saw him standing at his train table connecting all the boxcars to the engines and maneuvering them around their wooden track? How did the years fly by so fast?
I quickly brought my mind back to the present and saw him as the man he is. I saw his excitement and the overwhelming emotion on his face as his bride appeared and walked toward him. Abby’s grandma gave her away, and Abby joined hands with Joshua. They exchanged their vows and committed to love each other through whatever the future holds as long as they live. They gave each other rings to symbolize their never-ending love for each other. They assembled a unity cross symbolizing the two of them becoming one in the body of Christ. They kissed, and they happily exited the room as Mr. and Mrs. Joshua and Abigail McCammon.
Joshua and I had a sweet conversation later as we danced. Although, for a while it was a bit too sweet, and I asked him if he was trying to make me cry. “Do you want me to?” he asked. My eyes welled up, but I fought the tears and simply enjoyed the moment. I listened to his excitement about his plans with his new wife and told him how happy I am for him as well as how proud of him I am.
Our family and friends continued to celebrate with the new couple until they were ready to leave. Then I watched Joshua open the car door for Abby as he had done so many times. This time, however, they did not wave as they pulled away. They were ready for their new life together.
“Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and they shall become one flesh” (Genesis 3:24).
They were doing exactly what they were supposed to do. They were ready for their new life together. They were happy, and I was happy for them. No need to cry.
