This afternoon Rog and I are marrying a young college couple who are eloping (although their parents know) and want to exchange vows in Sedona before the semester ends and they transfer down to Arizona State University in Phoenix.

We are one of the few husband and wife teams of non-denominational ordained ministers. Together we serve as celebrants and marry folks couple-to-couple; we think there’s something very special about that. We bring our joy, love, and memories of our own wedding when we serve as the celebrants for a couple’s special day.

We always enjoy and have fun getting to know a couple and helping them clarify and write their promises to one another. There’s also a myriad of other items on the list that we can often help with in order to have the wedding day flow with ease and grace. We feel that we are truly of service as the couple embarks on this new adventure in life as husband and wife.

Of course, the idea for today’s ceremony was to be outdoors and view the magnificent vistas of Red Rock Country. Thing is, although it’s just about May, the weather has been rainy, cloudy, windy, with temps in the 50’s – brrrrr! And the same is forecasted for today – not quite what we were hoping for on this special occasion.

But I know I can pray for sunshine to prevail… After all, it’s only for about a half-hour; surely Spirit can manage that, yes?

More importantly, I know that the Sunlight of the Spirit will be with us regardless of what is going on in the external world of form. God warms our souls all the time with Its love, peace, and joy.

So as we celebrate a young couple’s union into a formal holy relationship, we also celebrate God. We express gratitude for all the abundance and blessings in our lives, for the sunshine that shows up in a variety of ways.