When my youngest daughter shared that she would likely get married this summer, we were thrilled.
Then things started shutting down all over the place. This included temples.
Even once temples started opening for marriages of previously-endowed couples, the temple near us remained closed.
Then there was the question of how to hold a celebration. Some involved felt current restrictions were unwarranted. Others were very concerned.
How could we accommodate all?
In the end I feel we struck a good balance between caution and the desire to celebrate with those we love.
Along the way, we have been surrounded by miracles.
One particular miracle was that my daughter’s choice for sealer was able to perform her marriage. Brother Evans has known me since I was a pre-teen. He has been our bishop, our home teacher, and voiced my daughters’ patriarchal blessings. But with COVID restrictions, he was only able to perform the ceremony in the Philadelphia temple because he had received personalized written permission from President Nelson to officiate in Philadelphia, a need created because the good people of Washington DC thronged to Philadelphia when the DC temple was closed for extensive renovations.
As we entered the temple for the sealing, it was as if everything was being done solely for this one couple. In fact, that day Annie and Tim were the only couple sealed in Philadelphia, so in fact all the people who greeted us and helped us and cleaned up were there solely for that one couple.
The days threatened rain. But for those key events that would have been ruined by rain, we experienced clear skies.
And with the risk some feared of exposure to the virus, there would have been concern about being unmasked in proximity to others. But we were blessed with a stiff wind that minimized the risk of anyone acquiring an infectious load of the virus.
In this time of so much doom and gloom, may our joy prove a bright spot. And may our miracles help someone seeking answers find ways to have their own joyful day in a manner that blesses all.