By Kiri Groeneveld
YOU are, I am sure, familiar with 1Corinthians:13.
Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud, and so on.
With good reason, it is a popular wedding verse – one of the passages in the Bible that resonates with those entering into the sacrament of marriage.
While I don’t know which verses they have chosen specifically, I can say for certain that this is one that two of my best friends must have come across while preparing for their wedding.
I have been good friends with Brenton and Ellen since we were kids.
Brenton and I met in Year 8, bonding over movies and jokes. Ellen and I go even further back to the days of choir in primary school.
They began their relationship at 15, have been through good and bad, and finally decided to commit their lives to each other as husband and wife.
For our group of friends, it has become the event of the year.
And at the time of writing this column, the wedding is still two weeks away.
Now, everyone loves a wedding.
Brenton and Ellen’s is the first amongst our close group of friends. Some of us have parts in the ceremony and reception, and we’ve all been included in certain elements of the planning process.
And we’ve definitely been there for all the celebrations. It is very easy to get wrapped up in the hype of the “big day”, however it is essential to remember the importance, the elementary act, the deep foundation, and basically just the whole point of the wedding.
And while it may not be myself entering into holy matrimony, I am still moved by all the love.
On hearing of their engagement (via text message) the love in our resulting phone call was loud and excited and immense.
On being asked to emcee their reception, my love for them both was deep and caring and humble.
Just chatting about details of the wedding itself resulted in hours of “I love that song”, “I love this photo”, “I love those invites”, “That’s just lovely”, and lots of “I love you guys”.
The event of two of my best friends getting married to each other has brought about many varying displays and examples of love that have not stopped amazing me and I feel has brought our group of friends closer in many ways.
The deep knowledge I carry of each of them, having been together for the better part of a decade, has only been strengthened as I watch us grow haphazardly into adulthood, celebrating each other’s milestones and successes.
The participation in celebrating someone else’s love is infectious, fun and joyful.
I will even speak for the happy couple themselves and say while I know they have experienced moments of stress and nerves, it has never outweighed their excitement and dedication to their decision to wed.
While I have been most involved in Brenton and Ellen’s wedding, it is actually only one of the many I seem to have the delight in attending this year.
Two of my cousins are also marrying this year, one having already been in July, and one yet to come in November.
I am positive that each of these weddings will be different – as different as each of the individuals are.
If anything, this year’s multiple wedding celebrations have only made me acknowledge and appreciate the many marriages in my life. Friends who are celebrating first, second or even 13th anniversaries.
Others are fulfilling their sacrament and welcoming children. Then there’s my aunties and my uncles, my grandparents, and of course my parents.
Theirs is a marriage I am blessed with, while at the same time I was their little blessing 24 years ago.
And while each of these relationships are different, the overall love is the same.
As 1 Corinthians:13 defines, it is truthful, it is protective, it is trusting and it is hopeful.
And I wish each of these marriages, no matter what stage they are at, all the absolute best in the name of God. I love you guys.
