The Best Day.

“The greatest love story of all time is contained in a tiny white host.” Archbishop Fulton Sheen

I remember my First Communion vividly. Baby's breath floated delicately through my braided hair. Light pink nail polish gently shined from each finger. I remember a pretty cake. And the moment I got to process in with the wine to turn into Christ's blood. I remember the special pictures and big celebration after. That day was different. That day was special. And while I didn't necessarily recognize it, in that moment, I do not think in my own life I will ever have a day quite as special. The day I made my First Communion, was the day I got to walk down the aisle for the first time and see my life alive, because of the man who sacrificed His life for me. 

As spring rolls around, and First Communion's take place in churches around the world, I'm reminded of the wedding feast. For as long as I can remember, I have loved weddings. There was even a time in my life I thought the job I wanted to do was to coordinate them. Why? Because quite frankly, I LOVE love. So as grooms stand at the end of the aisle and pledge their lives, and love, to their bride, I am so in awe of that beauty. 

Have you seen the pictures on Pinterest? The moment when the groom sees his bride coming down the aisle for the first time? One man may be filled with tears. Another man wears a grin the size of a watermelon. Still another man might throw his hands in the air or fall to his knees. Few pictures capture love so well, but the moment a man gives all that he has to love, honor, and cherish his wife from this day forward.  I cannot even truly fathom what that must feel like, to give yourself so freely, and so completely. I cannot comprehend what it might feel like to be the bride on the other end of the aisle, walking toward the man who gives his life for her and who she completely surrenders her life to in return. Even so my heart longs for that day. 

But what if I already had that day? What if the day I walk down the aisle and marry a man is just a small reminder of the day I already was united with true love? 

There's a children's book by the title, "I'll love you forever". And in this story the mom sneaks into her baby boy's room every night and rocks him back and forth...back and forth. And as she rocks him she would sing, "I'll love you forever, I'll like you for always. As long as I'm living, my baby you'll be." The boy never knew his mother did this. He never heard his mother's words. But the mother snuck in his room each night either way. Why? Because she loved him so much. No matter what he did that day, how horrible he is, or what trouble he has caused, that mom loved that little boy. And she would lay down her life for him. But how little does that boy know? 

That is true love. It is a love that gives and never asks for anything in return. In the midst of a very human heart, a mom finds the strength to love her son just a little more, even if he doesn't know it. I often find myself wondering if I'm like that little boy, loved more than I am aware. Am I loved in the quiet moments that I fail to recognize. Maybe true love is more than what we can see? 

We look to the cross and see a man who died for our sins. But if we search a little beyond that moment, if we look beyond the obvious, we see the Eucharist. We see a God who so passionately wants a forever with us, that not only did He lay down all that He was, but chose to unite Himself with us fully. 

And the fact of the matter is, sometimes we cannot see how much that love changes us. The boy in the story ends up rocking his own mother back and forth as she becomes fragile and old. Without him even knowing, the mom gave her son a love that changed who he was and the love his was able to give in return. The love Christ shows me, in the Eucharist, changes who I am. 

There once was a day when I walked down the aisle and Christ became a literal part of who I am for the first time. My First Communion was the beginning of knowing that reality. That day was the wedding feast I have always dreamed of! My heart was united fully with love. Every day since, I have discovered what that actually means to chose love, because even when I did not know it or necessarily feel it, Christ was pouring His love out to me. Everyday, I can be love, because everyday I am falling in love with a man who chose to love me long before I even saw Him. 

I dream of the day when I'll again get to remember baby's breath floating delicately through my braided hair. Light pink nail polish gently shining from each finger. It'll be the day I remember a pretty cake. And perhaps a moment that I will get to process in with the wine to turn into Christ's blood. I will remember the special pictures and big celebration after. That day will be different. That day will be special. And while I didn't necessarily recognize it, until recently, that beautiful day, will only be a reminder of the very best day in my own life. The day I made my First Communion, was the day I got to walk down the aisle for the first time and see my life alive, because of the man who sacrificed His life for me. The day I walk down the aisle and marry the man I have waited for all these years will be made beautiful, because the love of Christ filled our hearts so abundantly, long before we even saw one another.