“It’s not the experience that brings transformation; it’s our reflection upon our experience.”

— Jan Johnson

All that I learned this autumn falls into one of two categories: Wedding Things, Everything Else. Honestly, what I learned this fall would fill a couple of books. Since neither you nor I have time for that mid-December, I’m sharing a handful of the Things I Learned Hosting A Wedding in 2020. Pardon the extra long post and know it won’t probably be my final wedding-related post!

I’m struck that as I reflected on our experience of hosting the wedding and all the ways that felt especially disorienting during a pandemic, the lessons that bubble up to the surface are probably always true. Maybe heightened now, but timeless in value. This seems about right and, I suspect, something we’ll discover about 2020 in general. The truest true things - both the beautiful and the ugly - are being exposed in ways almost impossible to ignore. This will form our stories of grief, but also, I think, our joy.

About mid-October - while we were recovering from the massive emotional and physical energy we’d lavished on Kendra and Jordan’s wedding - I began to feel the warm whisper of anticipation for Advent. It said, "Good prayer time is ahead”. I hope that you’ve found space for prayer this Advent. Whether you’re able to form words that are profound or barely articulate, know that you are not alone in needing God-with-Us to be, tangibly, undeniably With-Us now.

Take heart, friend. Our best days are ahead. When we remember the beauty of Christ's arrival, that is really saying something.

Tidings of comfort and joy,

Tamara