The following is excerpted from Third Hour. To read the full article, CLICK HERE.
This parable is about me, a bride in 2020, and some plastic grapes. I was stressed out. And by stressed I mean a month before I got married, all the temples closed, my family was unable to travel (including my parents), and we were restricted to 10 people. Needless to say, everything felt like it was going wrong.
The Story
Our wedding was eventually whittled down to witnesses, our photographer, the bishop, and the two of us. We got married in the back of a church parking lot because we couldn’t find a place to get married. Even though all of this seemed awful, I still wanted the day to feel special.
A few people asked how they could help and one person specifically offered to give us flowers for our arch. Originally it was going to be empty so I took them up on that offer because it was a nice gesture. They asked me what kind of flowers I wanted and I figured that I should keep it simple so I asked for faux white roses.
The flowers arrived at 11 pm the night before our wedding and instead of faux white roses, there were fake lilies, fuzzy daisies, and plastic grapes. I didn’t realize how sensitive I was at that moment but I just started crying. My then soon to be husband came over and was so confused about why I was crying.
There I was, on the ground, trying to attach these giant flowers to our arch and they kept falling over. I was trying so hard to accomplish this task and it wasn’t working. (To the person who made me these flowers: please know that it wasn’t you, I was just in a very fragile place. I think they looked great in the end.)
I just turned to him and said, “I know I should be grateful for anything that we get, but why did it have to be fake plastic grapes?” He gave me a hug, calmed me down, and told me I should try to get some rest. We were getting married in the morning after all.
Is This Really About Plastic Grapes?
To read the full article, CLICK HERE.
Rochelle HaleJanuary 14, 2021
You may fret about those plastic grapes forever, but in the end you were married, and hopefully, you can be sealed soon. My first marriage was in the temple with my husband's parents and a few friends, but our reception was hundreds of miles away with my non-member family. No internet, Pinterest, or Zoom in those days. Suffice it to say, my mother did her best, but the cultural hall decor and refreshments were definitely not what I had in mind. Even my musicians canceled last minute. Most distressing was the photographer (family friend) took awful pictures. My dream of a large family photo like my cousin had was totally dashed to pieces. The physical trappings of a dream wedding weren't there, but when I was sealed to my second husband we had some amazing spiritual experiences, confirmed by some of his relatives who were in attendance. On a daily basis, we hope it is the covenants we've made and why that sustains us.