The luckiest man in the world

They say you can judge the real power of a man by the size of the smile of the woman next to him. And I see you beaming as you approach him. It's your wedding day. You're more beautiful than I remember. 

I'm so glad (and apprehensive) you invited me to your wedding. To see your man's hands tremble slightly as you walk your floating-on-air way of walking to him, your eyes locked, it's so special and so perfect. 

As he says his vows, I hear a little tremble in his voice. There is excitement, but there is also a wall of emotion pushing against his vocal cords; it's rivulets of feeling I hear. I can tell he loves you, but so much bigger than that. He knows he's found a precious thing in you, and he is more than ready to say that word "forever," even though we all know there is no such thing.

Standing where I am, I see you blushing. Even your ears have turned red. There is a rushing in you, too, that begs to meet his rushing. When you're alone tonight, I know you'll rush and crash together like only lovers who have waited too long can do. It is long overdue. But you've done the waiting together, as patiently as you could. He did his best not to rush you, and you appreciated his tenderness when you were still fragile.

I can tell you are friends. But you are so much more than friends. The way he holds your hand, it's like it is gilded. I look around and wonder if anyone else sees what I see. Is anyone else witnessing this miracle, these two beautiful souls becoming one in front of our eyes? 

There is jealousy rising in me. I'm beginning to wonder why I came. Here is the love of my life promising her everything to a man I don't even know while I stand in the corner. But my love for you has more often been unselfish. If it wasn't me, I wanted the very best for you. And it looks like you have found him. 

With the rings finally on your fingers, with him finally leaning in and kissing you, and with your "I dos" said, you both turn to face your spectators, and my eyes find my shoes shuffling nervously. One look in your eyes and I know you've found the best man for you. But I didn't come here to see you as much as I did to see the man I prayed you would find. And it's more than that. It was a burning curiosity in me to see this mythical, legendary man. Yes, it's true. I came here to see the luckiest man in the world. 

My eyes can't help but blur with tears. What I've witnessed is too beautiful for my body to handle. What I've seen is what God has done in the lives of two people. And their lives will touch so many. 

As I walk away from the church, I have your wedding program in hand. I realize I never even looked at it. I thought I knew all there was to know. But I'm glad I carried it with me because I missed something. Printed on the cover are words that choke me up instantly, and I almost drop the program right there on the sidewalk. Indeed, I almost drop to my knees with weakness. 

"Thank you for coming together on this beautiful day and witnessing the joining of these two lives — Joshua and Cynthia — in holy matrimony." And this is the precise moment I realize this day was too big and too magnificent for me. I had to stand in the crowd and witness what I'm sure my body and soul could not contain. When she started walking toward me, I left my body. I was present. I watched. But I knew I would be a blubbering mess if I stayed where I stood. 

As I felt your hot hand pressing into mine as we stepped into the sunlight, and as I came to my senses, waves of hotness and relief and gratitude spread through me. Never in my life could I have imagined marrying you. Never in my life could I have imagined I would someday be the luckiest man alive.


This is one I wrote last summer. I originally wrote something completely different (which I believe was the most beautiful and unselfish thing I've ever written), but I accidentally deleted that post (something I've never done before). I had to completely rewrite it, so I changed the whole story. In the original, I didn't get the girl. I like this ending much better, thank you very much, though I admit it is an exercise in wishful thinking. Also, if it seems my posting frequency has dropped off, that's true. Things like that happen when a man loses his muse.

I leave this post here as a memorial to the woman I loved with a fierce and tenacious love I will never again experience. It is a symbol of what could have been. And a reminder of the power of hope in our lives. Wouldn't this be a great post with which to end this blog?