January 25, 2023 - Good Morning! It's Wednesday, January 25.
On this date in 1858, the daughter of Britain's Queen Victoria was married, and the princess requested a special piece of music be played at the ceremony. It was called "The Wedding March" and was written by the classical composer Felix Mendelssohn. It was the first time it was used for a wedding, and we still hear it at weddings today. It's the lively tune that, after the "I do's" and the kiss, the bride and groom usually walk out to.
The march that we typically here at the beginning of weddings was also composed by a classical giant, Richard Wagner. He called it "The Bridal Chorus", but most people just call it "Here Comes the Bride." I've played for a lot of weddings over the years, so if you were to wake me up in the middle of the night, I could probably play either one of these pieces and never miss a beat. I've also played for some weddings that featured musical choices that were a little more out of the ordinary. These choices included "The Brady Bunch Song," the theme from "Star Wars," and the Aggie War Hymn (twice).
I could write a book filled with amusing (and horrifying) wedding stories. I remember one ceremony where I was asked to begin playing 30 minutes before the service was to start, which is about standard. But, the time to start came - and went - and 45 minutes later I was still playing "preservice" music! That added up to an hour and 15 minutes at the keyboard. I played every love song I knew (twice). I may have also played the Aggie War Hymn. Finally, the wedding party appeared at the door and we began - almost an hour late. I found out later that the grandmother of the bride had refused to leave the hotel because she was upset about something - I forget what. It made sense to her, at the time, to hold the bride and groom and the guests hostage - not to mention the poor piano player.
Challenging and stressful times can bring out the worst in people. I had a pastor who liked to say, "What's really inside you is what comes out whenever you get squeezed!" That has sometimes happened in my life - maybe in yours, too. The Apostle Paul taught us about a different way to live -
Galatians 5:22-23 - The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self control.
Meet you back here tomorrow,
Bro. David
dmathis@fbccenter.org
