Good To Be Together--A Wedding Remembered

photo by Sam Showalter

We experienced a truly once in a lifetime blessing yesterday, thanks to friends and relatives who packed the great room at the Old Massanutten Lodge near Keezletown to help us celebrate our 50th anniversary (actual date was August 8).

Thanks, friends and fellow church members Guy and Margie Vlasits, for hosting this at your B&B yesterday, and everyone who attended. And a special thanks to our three children and spouses who put so much time and creativity into making it happen.

photo by Sam Showalter

Thanks, daughter Joanna, for doing the invitations, creating the display of our old wedding pictures (enlarged and framed) and otherwise spending hours and hours in planning and helping create the best anniversary celebration ever.

Thanks to son Brent and good wife Heidi for preparing the most gourmet fare imaginable for the occasion, and for investing countless hours of time to pull this off. We were totally impressed with how attractive and tasty the food was, far exceeding expectations we would have had for even professional caterers.

And to oldest son Brad, thanks for emceeing the singing and sharing time yesterday, and for preparing the prayer litany as well as the paraphrase of I Corinthians 13 read by your nine-year-old nephew and niece And of course for providing our favorite sax accompaniment for background piano music (with long time family friend Keith Bly), and for singing the song you composed and sang for Brent's wedding in 2001--and sang for Jo's wedding several months later. The words, melody and guitar were so beautiful it made your heart hurt:

the ones you love are gathered ‘round
to bless the day, the love you’ve found,
with song and prayer and a joyful sound,
it’s good to be together..

as you were loved when you were small,
so may you grow, then, when you fall
you’ll get back up and shake it off,
and travel on together..

a mystery to see you through,
how 1 and 1 is more than 2,
a cord of 3 strands binding you, and
it’s not easily broken..

the simplest magic known to us:
to come to care, to learn to trust,
to love what’s there at any cost,
to learn to be together..

the ones you love are gathered ‘round
to bless the day, the love you’ve found,
with song and prayer and a joyful sound
it’s good to be together
it’s good to be together…

 It was indeed "good to be together"! We'll remember yesterday forever, along with fifty years of other yesterdays that have blessed us beyond belief.

photo by Sam Showalter

We're anticipating yet another anniversary/reunion gathering with members of my Yoder clan in Campbell County next month. Joy!