A Friend's Wedding

Yesterday, I attended a friend's wedding. It was my first time to attend a ceremony in a Church in Singapore. She was an ex-colleague and though we seldom get the chance to meet up after she moved to another company, we managed to keep in touch. Last month, she sent me an SMS asking for my mailing address because she wanted to send me an invite. I was really touched that she remembered me on her wedding and honored that she wanted me to be there.

It was a simple and private wedding, attended by mostly relatives and friends. As expected, the bride is very beautiful and happy and maybe a little bit nervous too. Looking at her walking down the aisle in her wedding gown, I can't help but smile because she looks like a woman ready to start a new life as a wife, but behind all that you could still see the child in her that remains and that I liked very much about her.

Blessed the husband of a good wife,
twice lengthened are his days;
A worthy wife brings joy to her husband,
peaceful and full is his life.
A good wife is a generous gift,
bestowed upon him who fears the Lord;
Be he rich or poor, his heart is content,
and a smile is ever on his face.

A gracious wife delights her husband,
her thoughtfulness puts flesh on his bones;
A gift from the Lord is her governed speech,
and her firm virtue is of surpassing worth.
Choicest of blessings is a modest wife,
priceless her chaste soul.
A holy and decent woman adds grace upon grace;
indeed, no price is worthy of her temperate soul.
Like the sun rising in the Lord's heavens,
the beauty of a virtuous wife is the radiance of her home.

Last night, before I went to bed I thought of the wedding and I felt this pride and joy within, knowing a friend finally found her real happiness and would be spending the rest of her life with him. I prayed for God to continue to bless their union and to guide them through their new life together. I wish for them both a long, blessed and happy life together.

Brothers and sisters:
Strive eagerly for the greatest spiritual gifts.
But I shall show you a still more excellent way.

If I speak in human and angelic tongues but do not have love,
I am a resounding gong or a clashing cymbal.
And if I have the gift or prophecy
and comprehend all mysteries and all knowledge;
if I have all faith so as to move mountains,
but do not have love, I am nothing.
If I give away everything I own,
and if I hand my body over so that I may boast
but do not have love, I gain nothing.

Love is patient, love is kind.
It is not jealous, is not pompous,
it is not inflated, it is not rude,
it does not seek its own interest,
it is not quick-tempered,
it does not brood over injury,
it does not rejoice over wrongdoing
but rejoices with the truth.
It bears all things, believes all things,
Hope all things, endures all things.
Love never fails.