April 7, 1978.
A Friday. A day of reflection, and sincere anticipation.
This was rehearsal dinner day. The day before The Day.
Invitations had been sent. Preparations had been made.
The bride… Mary Christine Cargo, would be wearing the wedding dress that her mother wore in 1949, but not until tomorrow. Not until the 8th. Not until the wedding.
But this day, Friday the 7th of April, would be a day for final preparation. A day of waiting. A day of dreaming. With only a partially informed expectation.
We met in February of 1975. Over three years before this date. A relatively short runway for the flight of a lifetime.
Friday night we went through the rehearsal… and the dinner afterward. All very understated and meaningful. Then back to the Cargo household to open presents. I remember sitting on the hearth of the fireplace in a suit and tie. Unwrapping. Smiling. Thanking. And unwrapping some more. My fiancé at my side. My wife to be.
My heart was racing. My mind spinning. The unknown was about to be known. To be lived. To be experienced.
And now… 45 years later, what I know is that marriage is very unlike a wedding. Less precise. Less polished, but far more beautiful.
Deeper. Richer.
Friday, April 7th, I was living between the preparation and the culmination. Somewhere between an imperfect courtship, and the journey of a lifetime.
The day between.
Good Friday. Easter Sunday… and the Saturday in between. Certainly. But also for those of us in a post-crucifixion and post-resurrection era, we live in Saturday as well. We are redeemed, rescued, justified, and being sanctified… but all of that is just a rehearsal. Preparation for an underappreciated, and uninformed reality. Another wedding awaits. A marriage… not just for silver, gold or platinum anniversaries, but for eternity.
Reality that will dwarf expectation.
But for now… the day in between. Preparation and anticipation comingled with uncertainty and naivety.
Like those huddled together on Saturday in Jerusalem over 2,000 years ago… to us today.
We wait. We prepare. We anticipate. We expect. We get anxious. We battle fear. We reflect, remember and hope.
The day in between.
A wedding is coming. A marriage awaits.
Beyond our wildest and loftiest expectations. Yes indeed, April 8th is coming.
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