Love at First Moonwalk

Saturday afternoon, I officiated Lauren and Colton’s wedding ceremony at CCC Lake in Perry, Oklahoma. Here are the remarks I shared with them and their guests:

“So, what are you doing this weekend?” they asked me. Oh, nothing much. Just marrying a Wiccan and a Jew. In Oklahoma. Like you do… Seriously, though, I have learned so much, just getting to know Lauren and Colton. That is probably not surprising to anyone who knows them, because these are two very deep individuals. They are learners and seekers in the truest sense. You won’t be surprised, therefore, that I found the story of how these two met and how their relationship blossomed a fascinating tale.

Like most Wiccan-Jewish couples, they met at a Walmart in Stillwater, Oklahoma… LOL, as my kids would say. Two of their first three meaningful interactions revolved around relieving the store greeter, one of the most recognizable positions in the Walmart eco-system. I find this to be quite appropriate for seeker-learners like them to meet and interact this way, since this position, only became a hallmark of every Walmart as a result of Sam Walton learning from one of his employees.

Of course, if you know Lauren and Colton, you know I have buried the lead. It is what happened in between those two greeter related interactions that was most revealing. Lauren explains: “After I had been working at Walmart for about two months, I started noticing that Colton would go out of his way to say goodbye to me at the end of his shifts. Once, when I was helping a little old lady check out, he came by my line to tell me he was heading out for the night, and as he said goodbye, he moonwalked backward through my checkout line. The woman noticed this and asked me, ‘What was that all about?’ ‘I don’t know,’ I replied, ‘I think maybe he likes me.’ ‘I think he does,’ the woman responded. It was at that point that I realized that I liked him, too.” Isn’t that interesting? Sometimes, it takes the other person showing us a sign to make our own feelings clear to us, ourselves.

They both describe their first date and its aftermath affect on them, in a fashion that can only be described as deeply spiritual. Lauren says, “That first date at the (OSU botanical) gardens was perfect. The weather that September day was warm and sunny, with a light breeze as we walked through the gardens talking. We talked about all sorts of things, our hopes and dreams, our families, past relationships, and what we were looking for in our lives. A second date quickly followed, then a third, and before we knew it we were spending most days together, happily in love in a way that we had never experienced before.

And Colton says, “I fell in love with her on that first date. She was smart, funny, and beautiful. She had the most curly hair that flowed like water from a spring and a voice that would bring joy to my heart. I can genuinely say I have never met a woman like Lauren. She is the light in my life. She gives me a purpose and a meaning that I have never had before. When I’m with her, I feel complete. That missing part of me is gone when she’s around. Sometimes, it feels like the sun wouldn’t be bright if she wasn’t around.”

It is no surprise, therefore, that when you ask Colton why he wants to marry Lauren, this is his response: “I love her more than I’ve ever loved anyone in my life… Her love is sweeter than honey, her kindness is more healing than any medicine, and no one can compare with her beauty. Because not only is she truly beautiful on the outside, but also on the inside.”

Lauren sums it up similarly, when she says: “He values, understands, and adores me in a way that I have never felt before with anyone else. I never believed in love at first sight, until we fell into this whirlwind romance together. I guess it was love at first moonwalk for us.”