A Lot Better Together

Sunday evening (3/27), Father Dennis Venegas and I co-officiated Erika and David’s wedding ceremony at The Arneson River Theater at La Villita, in San Antonio, Texas. Here are the remarks I shared with them and their guests:

David describes the very beginning of their relationship. It’s, shall we say, different: “We had a great first date and a fun conversation.” OK, so far so good. “On our second date, we went to a rock-climbing wall because we both like to exercise. I remember thinking to myself on that date, this could have a lot of potential.” And I remember thinking to myself just reading about that date makes me feel tired.

David continues: “Everything seemed very natural, and it was nice that we both enjoyed similar activities. As we learned more about each other, we realized that we had very similar values and beliefs and our families even seemed to be kind of similar.”

Erika concurs: “He was interesting, fun, relatable, and genuinely seemed interested in me. He didn’t seem concerned with looking cool or playing hard to get, and I found it incredibly refreshing. As we got to know one another, we found more and more things in common, and I felt like I could truly be myself around David.”

The next part of what they both say invokes an ancient idea I don’t know they are even conscious of. David says, “Erika felt somehow familiar to me. She also expressed that I felt familiar to her. Somehow, very organically, I started to think that Erika was the woman I wanted to marry. She is the sweetest person I know, we have shared values, and we complement each other in many ways.”

And Erika agrees, “I can honestly say I am very happy. Before David I had felt unbalanced, but David evens me out. I feel stable, I feel loved, and I feel blessed. I am so thankful to David and the love we have for one another.”

The ancients, pondering the idea of soulmates, imagined that the gods or God, depending on their theology, created the first human as an androgynous intersex being. If you are hearing this for the first time, it is only because of a mistranslation of the second creation story in the Bible. Long story short, Eve was not created from Adam’s rib, but from his side.

Erika and David add one coda to this ancient legend. Some read this legend as implying that your partner completes you. Not so. In fact, a prerequisite seems to be what David says, “We are both fine on our own, but I think we are a lot better together.”