Twenty Seven Years and Counting

June 3, 2008.

Today is our 27^th wedding anniversary.

My husband and I were wed at Bacolod Adventist Center in Taculing, Bacolod City on Sunday, June 3, 1981, at 6:00 in the morning. Really, no kidding, it was at 6:00 AM. It was (and probably still is) common in the Philippines to have weddings that early, or even earlier, say, 5:30 in the morning.

As I think about it now, our participants and others who were involved might have cursed us (mostly me) under their breaths for weeks afterwards for making them wake up that early. The bridegroom said he did not sleep even one bit – I had some, but was awake at 4:00 AM. My inspiration (or crazy idea, depending on who’s talking) was that I had a friend who was wed in the same church, at 5:30 AM, and I thought it was totally romantic!!!

So, at 6:00 AM, there we were. The sun was just peeping out as our officiating minister said, “Dearly beloved, we are gathered here today before God and in the presence of this company …..” He was the conservative sort, kind of traditional, but we liked his crisp and short yet packed words and phrases. And we preferred traditional: we wanted our vows to say that our commitment to each other was (and is) total and permanent. We also wanted to invoke God’s help as we fulfill that commitment.

By the time Pastor Geslani asked the famous question, “And now, solemnly promising before God, and in the presence of these witnesses, … will you love her, comfort her, honor her, cherish her, in sickness and in health, in prosperity or in adversity……as long as you both shall live?...,” the sun had climbed higher and its rays were now warm, but soft.

The early morning sun, the silence in the church except for the sparrows chirping, the lyrical cadence of the minister’s strong voice as he prayed for our new home, “The Lord’s Prayer” sang by Inday Londres in her powerful soprano– this was a scene that will always be stored in my happy-memory file!

Many things went wrong during that day: the photographer failed to take pictures of some participants, the little cute pillow for the Bible and covenant was nowhere to be found, some of the food did not turn out as expected, some of our relatives were complaining (ah, this is another story…). And as I look at the pictures now, I think my face was too shiny, and in addition, we all looked so very promdi (a modern Filipino slang meaning “from the province,” or country bumpkins)! And yes we were! That wedding was nowhere near the exquisite picture-book kind you’ll see in today’s wedding magazines.

My brain is on selective memory mode, though, so it did (does) not bother us too much. And what’s more, I think we got the most important thing right that day: God blessed that new home.