There’s a little nook in my dining room that has four small shelves on the wall. Each shelf has pictures of my two daughters at varying stages of growing up. The bottom shelf has a picture of each of them in her wedding dress before the ceremony. In each picture, both girls are looking down, pensive but not sad or frightened. Just properly thoughtful and prayerful at the major life step she is about to take.
My office space (just a small desk and chair) is in our guest bedroom. On the dresser in there is also a wedding picture of each daughter. But these pictures were taken after the wedding ceremony. Each of them is with her husband. The newlywed couple holding each other close, smiling ear to ear. In each photo there is a manly arm wrapped protectively around an impossibly tiny feminine waist – the two people looking at each other with absolute joy.
It has been almost 22 years since my older daughter’s wedding. She and her husband have 4 children ranging in ages from 19 to 10. They have moved six times in those years for law school and jobs. They have weathered tight budgets, worrisome childhood illnesses and accidents, the loss of loved ones and beloved pets, driving lessons, Catholic school tuition, and sending the oldest off to college. In those 22 years, I have seen that same beaming smile on each of their faces time and time again. They don’t look as youthful. Their waistlines are thicker. But their joy in each other, their family, and their marriage hasn’t lessened.
It has been just over 9 years since my younger daughter’s wedding. That evening was the last time I saw her, and her beaming smile, in person. She died just two months later in a car accident. I talked to her several times during those two months, and I could hear the joy in her voice. It was obvious she was smiling.
Her husband has remained in our lives since then. He is very much a part of our family. He is an upbeat, positive person with a deep faith. We have all laughed and smiled together many times. But, always behind his smile, I detect some sadness, some wistfulness. His joy is always tempered a bit by what should have been.
Mine is, too. Every family picture taken since April 2017 is not complete. The slight dimness of my eyes casts a shadow on my smile. I am blessed, absolutely. I am comfortable, certainly. I am surrounded by the love of family and friends, most thankfully. I am grateful for my life.
Still, I look hopefully forward to my eventual Heavenly home. Where the only tears are tears of joy. And where every face is beaming with pure delight.
That hope makes me smile.
Laura
A Light for My Path 
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