Things Are Finally Good

Saturday evening, I officiated Nicole and Dallas’ wedding ceremony at Nicole’s parents’ home in Dallas, Texas. Here are the remarks I shared with them and their guests:

I believe the lesson that Nicole and Dallas teach us is one that is simple yet profound. We can find love regardless of what age we are, regardless of if we are even looking for it, and there can be no better balm for the soul. In the words of the singer Ed Sheeran, “We found love right where we are… ‘Cause honey, your soul can never grow old, it's evergreen… I'm thinking 'bout how people fall in love in mysterious ways.”

I believe that this type of love has qualities that love early in life can never reach. Perhaps there is no better description of Nicole and Dallas’s love than the words of Becca Martin in her essay, Loving You Made Me Discover A Part Of Myself I Didn’t Know Existed:

“You brought out a side of me I didn’t know existed because I barricaded it so far down… The part I don’t show, the part I didn’t know I was capable of feeling, is the side you uncovered…

Then you came along, you stripped the shield and broke down the layers that have become my home.

You made me feel things I didn’t know were possible; you made me finally realize why people go insane at the thought of losing the person they love…

But you’re different.

With you, I don’t have to worry about saying the wrong thing or embarrassing myself because we just seem to fit.

With you, things are good, with you, things are finally good…

Without even realizing, you’ve started chipping away at the walls I’ve built around my heart, and you’ve finally revealed it. You finally made me feel what it’s like to love again and to not be afraid, and for that, I’m thankful…”

Thank you for this valuable lesson, Nicole and Dallas. May these words continue to embody your love story in the years to come.