Thursday, August 30, 2012

dutch delft wedding.


A little bit of a wedding recap for your enjoyment...




I am so happy to share some photos of my sister's wedding from August 11.  It was such a GORGEOUS day in Holland, MI.  We spent the first half of the day picking up the back of Lizzy's dress, like this.




See those balloons going up the railings to the Chapel doors?  I LOVE THEM.  They were huge, and such a fun thing to see bopping around in the wind.




Brook Collier was the photographer- out of Grand Rapids, MI.  She was so relaxed and nice to work with, and even put up with our idea to drive all the way down to the beach after the ceremony!



Love those balloons!!




This is the inside of the newly redone Western Seminary Chapel, and that's my cousin- the Rev. Kate Kooyman, who is the chaplain at Hope College (right next door to Western Seminary).  She officiated the wedding and did such a fabulous job.




Great photo of my mom with two nephews, Joe and Greg DeYoung.  They've gotten taller over the years, and did a beautiful job of ushering at the wedding.


Such a happy couple!


I didn't get any pictures of me with my own husband, nor did I get any of the reception venue.  Hopefully those are still to come from the photographer, Brooke (I'm sure they are!).  



The Scripture I had the privilege to read at my sister's wedding was from Ruth, Chapter 1.  It reads: 

Again they cried openly. Orpah kissed her mother-in-law good-bye; but Ruth embraced her and held on.  Naomi said, "Look, your sister-in-law is going back home to live with her own people and gods; go with her."  But Ruth said, "Don't force me to leave you; don't make me go home. Where you go, I go; and where you live, I'll live. Your people are my people, your God is my god; where you die, I'll die, and that's where I'll be buried, so help me God—not even death itself is going to come between us!" (The Message paraphrase).


My cousin, Kate, did such a good job of talking about covenant, about God's Hesed.  Here is part of what she wrote: "There’s a word for God’s covenant faithfulness in Hebrew. HESED. Hesed is crazy loyalty. It’s love that costs something. It’s faithfulness that makes no sense. HESED is how the God of Israel loves his people. Over and over, in spite of our failings, this God comes back to the covenant he made and renews it, strengthens it, makes good on it. There is no shadow of turning in HESED. Great is God’s HESED."

I've done a lot of weddings myself, recently, and I am totally in agreement with what Kate was talking about.  The covenant we make in marriage, the promises and vows we say to each other, are really a reflection of the covenant God has made with us, as his people.  Marriage is a beautiful, wonderful, awesome, yet tricky thing, at times.  But, God's love and promises are perfect, never-ending, and constantly being made known to us.  We see it in Ruth, and we see it in Jesus- not even death can come between us and the love of God.  

Depending on what you believe, marriage can have a greater significance on the relationship ladder, but in reality, we are constantly working on all of our relationships- whether it's our spouse we see everyday, or our best friend who lives hundreds of miles away.  It's helpful, at least for me, to remember that my relationship with God will never go away, never be threatened, renegotiated, or lost.  Because of Him, we know how to love others.  

Love you, Lizzy and Daniel!

1 comment:

  1. oh i feel like a cool kid now! thanks for the shout out.

    i like that word "renegotiated." that's helpful to me.

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