Dispatch from Forbearance Presbyterian Church
No, It Doesn't Have to Be Perfect
by charlotte johnstone
For the third time this month, Arlene
and Marge Brannigan were in Rev. Hustisford's office to discuss
Arlene's upcoming wedding, although "discuss" doesn't
begin to describe the level of discourse between mother and daughter.
For almost a year now, Arlene's wedding had been the center of
the universe for the two women and what, at first, seemed mere
skirmishes about the usual nuptial arrangements had now escalated
to full-scale war in a major production with a cast of characters
apparently dedicated to driving him to distraction. As far as
he was concerned, his principle responsibilities were counseling
with the bride and groom, the wedding rehearsal and the ceremony
itself. Rev. Hustisford wouldn't have minded so much if the Brannigan
problems had arisen from what he considered the only crucial
matter at hand---whether the commitment of each to the other
was strong enough for a lifetime together. His role was to preside
over the ceremony, but his concern was always focused on the
viability of the marriage that followed.
How does Rev. Hustisford work
through this?
The may June issue of Horizons
has the whole story.
Marge and Arlene, however, seemed to think he had agreed to
be their personal wedding consultant and when Arlene, whose new
gospel was the latest issue of Bride's magazine, wasn't crying
to him that "It's MY day, not hers!," Marge, who had
hastily wed in a courtroom, was demanding that Rev. Hustisford
"talk some sense into that girl, because I am, after all,
only doing this for her and you'd think she'd appreciate it!"
Neither woman seemed to realize that his patience was wearing
exceedingly thin.
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