Even six months can seem like a short time when one has enough to do. Ken learned that pretty quickly as he and Mishy dove back into daily life. Mishy continued working sales at Evan’s Attire, though Ken suggested she move to BL&G as a second office worker to process the increasing amount of paperwork. Just that year Ken had expanded the business to include snowplowing by purchasing a new Ford truck with a plow and plow assemblies for the three four-wheel-drive vehicles used in the field. While snow was holding off a bit this year, Anne was already fielding calls from those who wanted to take advantage of the preferred customer rates that BL&G offered to their current clients.
Besides dealing with the usual leaf raking, tree-felling, and removal of potentially dangerous tree limbs, Ken still had to finish renovating his new home. He was staunchly aided in this by Mishy and occasionally by some of the singles from the church. Over the following months it became almost a sort of home-life, with Mishy rushing over from work in mid-afternoon to help Ken until late evening. More often than not, he ended up having to drive her home through the snow using his work Jeep, which made him wonder if it had been a mistake to buy the Mustang in the first place. Even with the interruptions of work and church the renovations progressed rapidly, including an expansion of the bathroom into a former closet that neither Ken nor Mishy thought they’d need. After some discussion they’d swapped the den and the study, since she felt that her old playroom had a much more relaxing atmosphere than her father’s favorite hangout.
Ken finally let himself be coerced into helping out with the teens, something that he did not feel cut out to do, but his extraordinary insights into the kids’ lives and his patient listening skills made him a favorite counselor with the boys. He would have all the girls coming over, too, except that Larry kept his strict rules about same-sex counseling.
As May crept closer, things shifted into over-drive. Ken was finally able to talk Vern into coming and playing his trumpet for the wedding, though his friend and boss was none too keen to return to Southall, knowing that Vicki Martel nee Frasier would be matron of honor, and her husband one of the groomsmen. Ken also had to spend quite a bit of time convincing both his parents and Pastor Jenkins to allow him and Mishy to defy tradition with their wedding. Ken’s mother had always dreamed of a huge, traditional wedding for her son, much like Kayla’s, but then relented when Luc finally sided with his son and pointed out that they’d already had a wedding the way she’d wanted it. It was time to let the boy do as he chose. The Millers were game to whatever their foster daughter wanted; after all, they had three more girls to marry off in any way they pleased.
Alex Jenkins, on the other hand, was not so easily convinced, regardless of the semi-theological arguments that Ken raised concerning his vision of the marriage ceremony. Alex had always done things the usual way and didn’t want to change anything if he could help it. It wasn’t until Ken rolled in the big guns in the form of Dr. Larry Mitchell and Mrs. Aurora Jenkins that the pastor agreed, albeit with reservations.
And so, Michelle toiled over the song she was to sing, while Ken rounded up the various musicians they had agreed on and sat with Pastor Jenkins and Larry to write out the vows the way they wanted. As time progressed, though, Alex became more and more excited about the sermon he was to preach and the direction that Ken and Mishy were taking in their wedding.
• • •
Then it was nearly time. People began arriving in Southall. Mishy even found a way to fly her roommates in from Germany. Bill and Vern planned the bachelor’s party, though they had differing views as to what entertainment should be. Conservativism prevailed, and the dancing girls were not hired, nor was any of the hard liquor bought, much to Vern’s chagrin. Ken was kidnapped by some well-meaning friends, though, and taken to a “secret location,” which turned out to be the Stone House. Larry had sent the women away for the evening.
“Where are you heading for your honeymoon?” someone asked Ken partway through the evening.
“Nowhere,” was the answer.
“What? That’s not what I call normal.” Ken shrugged.
“We’re going to have a belated one in the middle of June, when we go to visit Germany,” he explained. “Mishy’s friends couldn’t have us come visit until then, so we’re waiting.”
“Heh,” his friend laughed. “If your wedding day is as different as I’ve heard it will be, you’re really trying to mess with tradition—which is fine with me, mind you.” And he walked off to get another drink.
• • •
The wedding day dawned bright and sunny. Ken thought they’d gotten everything out of the way and could relax a bit before going into the ceremony. It turned out there had been a mess-up with the wedding gown, so the women were rushing around like a flock of birds, trying to find the seamstress who had helped alter it. Mishy demanded everything be as near to perfection as possible, so it would be done.
Then it turned out there was a problem with the sound system, so both Ken and Mishy were called back to the church for a sound check. However, the sound-tech had the foresight to arrange it so the happy couple wouldn’t run in to each other.
There were one or two other minor mishaps, including the fact that the limousine chartered for taking the bride and groom to the reception at the Stone House turned up missing, so Vicki called her uncle and got him to loan them his brand-new Chrysler Concorde. He insisted on driving it himself, what with all the gossip going around about how grand this whole affair was to be, which was fine with everyone involved.
The invitations stated that the ceremony was to begin at 2:30 pm. Heart Community church was packed out to the last aisle. Much to the surprise of the unsaved relatives and friends that were invited, the first thing on the agenda was a half-an-hour of singing and worship led by the Heart Community worship team. Then, at 3:00 pm sharp the bride was walked down the aisle by her foster father to the tune “How Beautiful”
by Twila Paris.
What everyone couldn’t help but notice was the fact that the bridegroom was not at the altar, and some wondered quietly to themselves whether or not he had finked out in the last minute. They had their answer when Mishy picked up a microphone and began to sing the song that she had written at Ken’s suggestion. It dealt with the longing of the betrothed one for her future husband, focusing first on the human relationship here, and then on the church, the Bride of Christ, longing for her husband, Jesus Christ, God in the flesh.
“My bridegroom come, I await you. / My bridegroom, hasten, I entreat you. / I long to see your face / Feel your presence all around me / My love, take me to your side, / My lord, come and claim your bride,” Mishy sang to the accompaniment of the worship team.
Just as the song ended, a bright clarion call broke from the balcony, announcing the arrival of the groom. The doors in the rear were opened and Ken strode in, resplendent in a white tuxedo, flanked by his father and followed by his two groomsmen, Larry and Bill, all in gray. He hurried to the front, where Mishy was to wait for him, but her excitement was too great, and—contrary to the prearranged protocol—she rushed down the aisle and met him half-way. He caught her up in his arms for a long moment and then took her with him back to the altar, where Pastor Jenkins stood, uncertain of whether to laugh or to frown at this breach of etiquette.
Once there, the bride was given away in customary American fashion as a nod to tradition, before Mishy and Ken were instructed to kneel. Their fathers stood on either side and spoke a blessing, before retiring to the seats prepared for them. The couple was then seated in chairs that faced each other, just slightly titled towards the altar. Pastor Jenkins rose and came forward, accompanied by his wife. He turned and gazed solemnly out on the crowd.
“I wish to welcome you all to this most joyous of occasions, the wedding of Kenner Olivier and Michelle Carlyn Hayes. The ceremony today is rather different, by request of my two friends here, because they do not wish to focus on themselves on this special day, but on God Himself.” Pastor Jenkins shifted his Bible in his hands. “In the Bible God likens His church to a bride and calls Himself the bridegroom. Those of us here who have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ are His Bride. We are waiting for Him to come and sweep us off our feet as Ken just did with Michelle. He is now preparing a place to take us to.” He swept over the congregation with dark, knowing eyes. “And that place, His presence, will be more glorious than the beautiful home that Ken has prepared for Michelle. It is more magnificent, more exciting, and more wonderful than anything we could even begin to dream or imagine. It is not a place where we will sit around on clouds, strumming harps. He has things for us to do. He has a new universe to rule, and we will rule with Him. He will be the all-in-all and we will be totally consumed by Him.
“That is why we await Him with such fervor and say, ‘The Spirit and the bride say, "Come!" And let him who hears say, “Come!”’” (Revelation 22:17a) Then Pastor Jenkins looked at Ken and Mishy.
“And now we have a few words to say to you two.” He smiled broadly. “Ken, you’ve chosen to take this young woman, Michelle, as your wife. You have chosen to share your life with her. That is a very big step. And being a Christian husband, you are charged with a double responsibility. The Apostle Paul writes in Ephesians 5:25-28, ‘Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her to make her holy, cleansing her by the washing with water through the word, and to present her to himself as a radiant church, without stain or wrinkle or any other blemish, but holy and blameless. In this same way, husbands ought to love their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself.’
“That is a tall order, isn’t it? Love your wife as Christ loves the church and give yourself up for her. That will not be difficult if someone threatens her life or her safety. It is natural for a man to give himself up in a situation like that. Where it will be difficult is in day-to-day life, giving up little things, like Monday Night Football and those late nights at work. It’s never even considering to look at another woman as you look at her. It’s when you have to deny yourself to accommodate her.” Here he looked warmly at Michelle. “And I know she’s worth it.” He reached down and placed a hand on Ken’s shoulder. “And by God’s grace, and with His help you will succeed.” Pastor Jenkins then looked to his wife, who had stood beside and a little behind him as he charged Ken.
“And I have a little somethin’ to say to you, hon,” Aurora began in her soft, deep-southern drawl, gazing at the bride with gentle, dark eyes. “Now you know your husband has the lion’s share of the work, right? The Apostle Paul writes to us women in Ephesians 5:22-24, ‘Wives, submit to your husbands as to the Lord. For the husband is the head of the wife as Christ is the head of the church, his body, of which he is the Savior. Now as the church submits to Christ, so also wives should submit to their husbands in everything.’ And that’s the easier part of the command. It’s much easier than all them people in the world want us to believe, Michelle dear.” The tall, black woman gently touched the bride’s cheek. “You see, when you follow the Holy Spirit and your husband loves you the way he should, you’ll want to submit to him. Submittin’ to him means that he’s got the final say and you won’t go behind his back to get what you want. It means that you support him in whatever way you can and that you go wherever God leads him.” She smiled to herself, standing straight again.
“That’s not quite politically correct, is it?” Michelle shook her head. She was expecting to hear this. Mrs. Jenkins had said it several times in their counseling sessions, but the young woman also believed her friends, both Christian and not, needed to hear it.
“Well, the Bible doesn’t call us to be politically correct, hon,” Aurora went on. “It calls us to follow God with our whole hearts. And I pray to God that you will.” She stepped back beside her husband. He motioned to the young couple.
“And now, say your vows,” he intoned as they rose. Ken reached out and clasped Michelle’s hand.
“Mishy, I hereby vow to be yours and yours alone. By the grace that God has given me, I promise that I will love you as Christ loves His church. I promise to give myself for you in my daily living as He has given Himself for us. I promise to uphold you in prayer and in action and to stand by you, no matter what life may throw at us. I promise to forsake all others and to cleave only to you, my beloved, until death parts us. This ring is a token of my promise.” He slipped a slim, gold band onto her finger. As he spoke the words that he’d worked so hard on, Ken felt his heart swell, he gazed into her eyes and saw the love and awe that he would be willing to speak such words.
And then it was her turn.
“Ken, I hereby vow to be yours and yours alone,” she said firmly. “By the grace that God has given me, I promise that I will submit to you as we both submit to Christ. I promise to support you in prayer and in action. I promise to stand with you, no matter what life may bring our way. And I promise to forsake all others and to cleave only to you, my husband, until death parts us. And this ring is a token of my promise.” He felt the cold of the gold ring on his finger less than the warmth in her voice and sensed the radiance of her even through the light veil that covered her face.
“‘For this reason a man will leave his father and mother,’” Pastor Jenkins quoted in a resonant voice, “‘and be united to his wife, and they will become one flesh. ... Therefore what God has joined together, let no one separate.’ (Matthew 10:7-9) And so, by the power vested in me, I declare you husband and wife.” He turned to Ken. “You may kiss the bride now.” Mishy raised her veil with his help and he planted a light kiss on her lips.
“Ladies and gentlemen,” the pastor boomed out over the congregation, “I hereby present to you Mr. and Mrs. Kenner Olivier.” The applause resounded mightily in the room as Ken and his bride strode down the aisle arm-in-arm.
As they stepped through the sanctuary doors and proceeded through the foyer to the exit where the car was waiting to take them to the Stone House, sunlight poured down from heaven, sprinkling God’s blessings upon the righteous and the wicked alike. But at that moment, Ken and Mishy believed that He’d sent it for them alone, the first light pointing them to their first step on the path together.
Scripture quotations are taken from The Holy Bible, New International Version®. Copyright © 1973, 1978,1984 by International Bible Society. Used by Permission of the International Bible Society. “NIV” and “New International Version” are trademarks registered in the United States Patent and Trademark office by International Bible Society.