The Uninvited Wedding Guest -- a Ski Boat!

There are a lot of different sounds that you expect to hear at a wedding: Maybe a piano or organ playing. Perhaps a trio of stringed instruments or small orchestra. Maybe the whisper and gasp as the bride finally appears in beautiful array. Maybe the roar of a ski boat...

Did you say, Ski Boat?

Our friends, Nathan and Stacey, couldn't have picked a more beautiful location for their special day. On a warm Friday last month, after winding my way through thickening stop-and-go Orlando traffic, my wife, daughter and I turned onto Holden Avenue, and then into the driveway of the Estate House at Cypress Grove (Click Here to see pictures). The calm surroundings were stunning.

Towering branches shadowed the long, paved driveway leading up to the stately white house in the distance. Lush green landscaping spread out to either side of this Eden-like setting. Beyond the house, I could see serene, sparkling lake, homes dotting the shoreline.

We had just driven from chaos to peaceful garden, in the blink of an eye.

As my family and I walked into the Estate House and took in the simple grandeur, a glance up the stairs brought delight when we fleetingly spotted the waiting bride in a room flooded with sunshine. She waved and blew a kiss, the joy of the moment infectious, exciting.

We were directed to a side room where we signed a most unique guest book: We blotted our thumbs with ink and left a thumbprint on Nathan and Stacey's "family tree". The symbolism made me smile.

Next, it was to the back of the house, a pristine white gazebo with chairs dotting the lawn awaited. We took a place in the third row, left side. Little did I know that the peaceful water behind the gazebo was about to change.

The Uninvited Visitor

It wasn't until the first bridesmaid made her way to her honored place that I truly took notice of the red ski boat. And the more I noticed, the more the audacity of the boat owner began to anger me. While the gentle strains of two violins and a cello played, the sound of the boat engine raced, the two towed kids screaming out across the water.

I remember thinking, how rude can you get? You are ruining this picture perfect moment! There should only be an empty lake behind the groom and his bride. But, no. You just had to drive your big fancy ski boat -- towing two screaming kids on a flapping inner tube -- right up to within rock throwing distance of a wedding altar? Where's a rock? I felt like asking. Let me at 'em!

Sure, I knew that I was supposed to be paying attention to the bridesmaids, flower girl, groom and groomsmen, as they walked down and took their places, but all that kept running through my mind was how inconsiderate this boat driver and his passengers were being. Then the boat quieted, and inched closer, the driver and passenger standing and staring.

Now I'd really be able to get him with that rock.

It wasn't until I got my wife's take on this that I began to see the whole incident in a new light. "Weddings are exciting, and people can't help but want to watch. Plus," she continued, "they probably didn't know that their voices carried so clearly over the water."

But "Honey," I wanted to shout, "they're a distraction! They've placed a huge red boat right behind the altar!"

As the ceremony began, I silently kept praying that God would make them move on, move this boat out of the picture. And eventually they did leave, dragging their inner tube behind them.

A Wedding disaster?

All of this got me wondering. Up there at the altar -- were my two friends bothered by the ski boat intruder to their wedding? Did they complain aloud to someone and insist that they shoo away these rude onlookers? If they were bothered, they sure didn't show it. As a matter of fact, they didn't seem to look anywhere but at each other.

I wonder how many times we forget to let the "main thing" be the "main thing"? It's so easy to get caught up in the little distractions of life; those little "joy robbers". Rather than focusing on "the big red ski boat" in our lives, maybe we should tenderly look into the eyes of our friends and loved ones (and, dare I even say, our enemies?) and appreciate them for Christ's sake. Show them that they matter. Love them, as Christ loves them.

It's not always easy, but God is still teaching me.

Later, at the reception dinner I had a chance to hug the bride, and ask her if she was distracted by the ski boat.

"Yeah, some other people where telling me about it, but I never saw it."

Thank you, Stacey...

That was the exact answer I was expecting.

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"Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith..." -Hebrews 12:2a