Every girl dreams of the day that her Father will walk her
down the aisle to marry the man of her dreams. One year ago today, that very
dream became a reality for our daughter Jessie, as the tropical breezes of Maui
lightly danced in the garden.
Love is truly the foundation of a marriage, and when
combined with trust in our Lord results in the strongest relationship you will
know in your lifetime. I remember a couple of years ago myDarlin’ Robert
excitedly telling me of a phone call from Sky, who honored the tradition of
asking for his blessing before proposing to the love of his life, our daughter
Jessie. Of course, he said yes and then was faced with a difficult request from
Sky. That request was that he couldn’t tell anyone, as Sky was still planning
his proposal. Now, I do have to confess that he did tell me for fear that he
would burst if not. We talked privately about how excited we were, but never
let a hint of this exciting secret out.
Last year as many know, myDarlin’ had a heart attack, but by
the Grace of God truly defied the odds and came through with flying colors. We
knew that he had work left to do, and that walking Jessie down the aisle was a
very important job. As he recovered we continued making plans for our two week
excursion to Hawaii. The entire family was there, and we enjoyed every waking
moment with each other.
As the days grew nearer to the wedding, Robert began writing
his wedding toast for Jessie and Sky. He spent a lot of time writing and
practicing so that he would get it just right on the big day. I spent the day
with Jessie and the girls getting ready for the wedding, while Robert was
already at the Maui Tropical Plantation with the guys. (We all know they don’t
take as long to get ready…J)
I hadn’t seen him all day and was quite anxious as well.
I had the same feeling seeing Robert walk down the aisle as
the groom does when seeing his bride for the first time in her beautiful white
wedding gown. There was myDarlin’ with his ever familiar grin and an extra
twinkle in his eye walking his beautiful Jessie down the aisle. As he came to
sit with me I felt the love and happiness as he tightly squeezed my hand.
The ceremony was as perfect as it could possibly be, the
toasts by myDarlin and the wedding party touching, and the first dance
beautiful. I watched Jessie and her Daddy dance, and time stood still as our
nephew Holeka played ukulele and sang a traditional Hawaiian song.
As the one year anniversary of Jessie and Sky’s marriage
arrives, I am filled with gratitude that we were all given a gift from God
allowing Robert to walk Jessie down the aisle and that we spent one of the best
summers in our lives with our Ohana in paradise.
And Jesus said to him, “Truly, I
say to you, today you will be with me in Paradise.” Luke 23:43
#KeepLookingUp
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