We missed out on a nice weekend away at a B&B in Daylesford but had it replaced by a bus-in and bus-out “day trip” instead, which had its nice bits.
Tress and I went to that lovely part of hippie country on Saturday for a wedding. Uncle Seng organised that bus and about 20 people got onto that rickety vehicle around lunch time, arriving about under an hour before the event. The Lake House spa and restaurant is a beautiful spot, with a fantastic reputation as a great restaurant too. We milled around a spot on lakeside from about 3pm, and although the wedding didn’t start till well over an hour later, people were generally in high spirits while waiting.
The wedding was simple and most of the guests were touched mainly by the fact that Uncle Jin, the father of the bride, had been diagnosed with cancer just about a couple of months earlier and had been undergoing chemotherapy. The illness and treatment bedraggled him and to see him dark and gaunt, barely able to walk but obviously so happy, caused many tears. After the simple service, the party moved towards the reception venue and while we waited for dinner, sat on the patio with drinks and witnessed the tea ceremony. This ceremony is easy to hold on to, because it offers obvious advantages which comparable practices of other cultures lack in terms a well-defined structure and clarity of expectations. The opportunity to be formally introduced to family members seals the creation of a sub-unit within the larger whole and allows it to relate to that wider fabric in a clear way.
So a touching service, followed by a meaningful ceremony. All that is needed now is a big party and the dinner reception did it too in spades. The food was great, the speeches were good, and the dances beautiful. It looked like a very good wedding all up.
If life is about the here and now, then who needs religion? Who needs God? Who needs the church? A wedding can be beautiful without God, His church and His people. But life isn’t about the here and now. It isn’t about how we feel, how good things and people are to each other. In spite of all the good things of the day, every single person who were there, who didn’t have a relationship with God through the saving grace of Jesus, would perish and face eternal death. It is always about God, His word, His people. If only we can help those we care for come to that life where God, His word and His people matter.
Ante 