There’s a certain thrill when the car top carriers are pulled out and strapped to our trusty 15 passenger van, a certain adrenaline when it’s time to stow the suitcases on top. We looked forward to a trip to Texas where six Bennetts would help at the wedding of our friend Esther. The morning of departure dawned clear and bright and we packed plenty of food for lunch and supper along the way. Our favorite feature was Dad’s suggestion of a 5 gallon jug to refill water bottles, not only easy to use but easy to keep the water cold! We were ready for a 30 hour haul and a busy but beautiful weekend.
Jonathan’s last minute, late night tune up on the van…
And we’re off!
Joel gave us snacks for the road, including frozen ice pops that served as edible ice packs for our cooler.
Carolyn made a great trip treasurer and kept a careful tally of our expenses…and a strict leash on our spending.
We enjoyed traveling across our beautiful country including our first time through Arkansas and seeing the ol’ Mississippi River. Finally, we rolled into Texas! There was plenty of time to unpack, settle in and visit with friends.
We loved seeing the campus of ALERT again, an amazing Christian program for young men that Jonathan completed years ago. We have faint but fond memories of attending his graduation there, and he has shared plenty of memorable stories from his time there too. He was so happy to be back in the old auto shop…and grateful for it, so he could fix a few issues on our van. What a blessing it is to have a mechanic on board, and a cheerful, diligent one too.
The wedding rehearsal ran smoothly the next day under Susanna’s direction, even ending 5 minutes early.
Lydia served as assistant photographer for the wedding and we helped her scout and plan the day before. She had a long and busy wedding workday and we were proud of her.
The wedding itself had some beautifully unique aspects planned. The groom and bride wanted their wedding to illustrate how marriage is a picture of the relationship between Christ and His Church. One of the most unique approaches they took was to have the wedding at an unknown hour. The bride (and guests) waited expectantly for the sound of the trumpet to announce her groom’s arrival to take her away to the wedding. In the same way, Jesus Christ will return to take His Church at an unknown hour at the sound of a trumpet (Matthew 25:13, 1 Thessalonians 4:16-17). The groom, riding in the back of a pickup truck from his secret location to the bride’s location, blew a shofar while his groomsmen sang “When the Roll is Called Up Yonder”.
Throughout the ceremony, two groomsmen read the meaning of various aspects of the ceremony, such as:
– the white of the wedding gown (representing the pure righteousness Christ has given the church),
– the unity candle (as Christ and the church abide in each other, they are one with God),
– signing the guest book (we are like the angels of heaven joyfully witness Christ’s redemption of the church)
– the joy in their faces (a visible picture of Christ rejoicing over His people and the church rejoicing in her Lord).
We thank the Lord for this refreshing and uplifting celebration of marriage bringing honor to the Lord and joy to our hearts. (Check out the photographers’ perspectives on the wedding and plenty of lovely pictures here.)
The return trip went really well and we arrived safely home, thankful for a wonderful time and many special memories.
“Be ye therefore followers of God, as dear children; and walk in love, as Christ also hath loved us, and hath given himself for us an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweet smelling savor.“
Ephesians 5:1-2
Thanks for sharing these wedding photos. We were unable to attend the wedding but watched it livestream. It was a beautiful and Christ honoring wedding.
James spent the weekend with us a few weeks ago while in town teaching some photography classes. It was fun to catch up and hear about the wedding.
Our family has Connecticut roots, so we are enjoying your blog!
Thanks for the comment! So fun to know that; glad you enjoy the blog!