27 years ago today, Andy and I were married in little hilltop church in Kentucky.
The bridesmaids wore tea-length royal blue dresses with big puffy sleeves. I wore self-made ivory satin, overlaid with hand-beaded lace. My hair was not as big as I wanted it to be on that June day in 1987; in retrospect, a great mercy.
I loved Andy then, I really did. And he loved me, too. He really did. But we were barely into our 20’s, and as sweet as the day was, we didn’t have a clue.
photo: Andy Bruner
Like Paul says in the famous love chapter of I Corinthians 13, I was a child and I understood as a child.
When it came to love, I didn’t know I would need anything more than nice. I'll be nice to you, you be nice to me, and we'll be just fine. That's what I thought.
But it turned out that Love was more than nice, and "just fine" was really not the plan God had.
Love is so much more, and it does so much more.
Love is strong, and passionate about justice.
Love doesn’t just let the mess have its horrible way.
Love doesn’t give up.
Love is vulnerable, but in the fiercest way: digging deep, pulling out the pain, living real.
Love is the truth.
Love doesn’t live in lies.
Love doesn’t need to pretend or deny.
Love rejoices in the truth.
Because the truth, no matter how difficult, sets us free, and that’s what Love came to do.
Love wins our freedom, and so it never overrides our free will.
It waits and it hopes and endures.
Love lets us choose.
And it keeps on loving, no matter what.
Love, for me, has been the great healing force of my life.
When there was no way, Love made a way.
Love found us where we were, and it did not leave us there alone.
And that is a miracle to celebrate every single day.