The week before the wedding is stressful, I've decided. I'm not especially surprised by this- life tends to get crazy right before you do anything big to it, especially when other people are involved. Weddings, I have found, tend to illicit a lot of advice and also opinions, and you simply cannot make everyone happy. Oh well- at least I'm only having one!
The good part is this. I've decided it was the best idea ever to meet Nate in the temple because now we can go on temple trips together all the time, and the really fun thing- we can sit in the room where we are going to be sealed whenever we want. In the midst of all the stress, this proved to be one of the best calming, peaceful cures. Last week we were sitting there, all alone in this big, beautiful room, imagining who would be sitting there and talking about how it would go. I felt so happy and so excited, and definitely felt the Spirit confirm to me that marrying him was the best thing I could be doing.
I also felt grateful to be able to sit there together weeks before we got married. What a neat opportunity to be so close to our temple, and to have access to that room where we will be sealed.
Sealing rooms always remind me of a woman I met on my mission- I was showing her pictures of the inside of the temple and explaining that pretty much everything we do there is making some sort of promise with God. When we got to the sealing room, and I explained that the promise we make there allows our families to be together not just in this life, but also in the life to come.
She started crying and said, "You know, I always hoped that it would be that way."
Her saying that always stuck with me because I think I had gotten so used to telling people, "Yeah yeah yeah, temple is really cool, and by the way your family will be together. And now on to the Book of Mormon..." Her hoping made me realize that it is really special, and it is really cool.
And so now, next week, I'm marrying Nate and we don't ever have to worry about losing each other. While I have questions about a lot of things regarding religion, the temple is so beautiful to me, and I love that we get to make a promise of marriage to each other and God that transcends life itself.
For more info about temples, go here.
