Why Not?

Saturday morning I officiated Lisa and Kevin’s wedding ceremony at the Homestead Resort in Midway, Utah.

 

There is an old saying: Do you know why a Jew answers a question with a question? (Pause) Why not? Seriously, though, one of the most profound answers we can give in our lives to any important why question is exactly that, “Why not?” Many answers end or close down a discussion. “Why not?” extends it and encourages it.

No less than Robert F. Kennedy once said, “There are those who look at things the way they are, and ask why... I dream of things that never were, and ask why not?” “Why not?” is such a freeing idea. It removes barriers, opens up opportunities, and creates new worlds. With “Why not?” you can overcome hesitation, calm those proverbial butterflies, and seize the day.

Lisa and Kevin are exactly the type of folks who are not afraid to ask, “Why not?” Their meeting each other in the first place, involved a “Why not?” moment. Lisa’s car got stuck on a dirt road, and having not yet met her in person, what was Kevin’s response in word and deed to her need of assistance? “Why not?”

By the time Kevin got there, Lisa’s friends had arrived, and “unstuck” her from the dirt. Both Lisa and Kevin could have gone their separate ways, but instead fate having brought them together, they consciously or unconsciously said to themselves and each other, “Why not?” That began the story that culminates here today.

This shouldn’t be that surprising, if you know Lisa and Kevin. Think about their journeys, professional and otherwise. Most people who show up at Kevin’s place of work are not really happy to end up there. Most of us look at our vehicles when we drop them off at a body shop, and can’t imagine how they will ever look normal again. Kevin eyeballs them, and with his wealth of experience, basically says, “Why not?” Then, with what is a combination of art and elbow grease, everything usually comes out better than it looked in the first place.

Lisa really believes in helping teens turn their lives around. The essence of a program like Youthcare, which she came up through, is to ask about every individual “Why not?” Then you help that individual answer that question, and become a responsible adult. This is why Lisa came out to Utah – to work for Youthcare, and help kids ask and answer that question. This is why she hopes to do so again soon.

And so, when Lisa and Kevin discovered that their team was going to gain a third player, Robby, their answer was obvious, to the myriad of questions they had. They were deeply in love already, and they were planning on getting married anyway. The answer they had to their next step in life, was a variant of the same question, “Why not… now?”

Today they look toward a future emblematic of that question, “Why not?” indeed! As Lisa says, “I am excited to see where life takes us.” And Kevin says, in words reminiscent of those words by RFK, “Lisa is the best thing that ever happened to me. She has taken me places I never thought I would go. She has brought me out of my shell, and helped me experience things I never thought I would.”