Being Present

On Sunday, May 12, 2024, I officiated Kim and Sam’s wedding ceremony at the Grand Palladium Costa Mujeres in Cancun, Mexico. Here are the remarks I shared with them and their guests:

What strikes me the most about Kim and Sam is that these are two very deep people, who really think about their place in the world, and very much care about other people. One might say that there is no better way to live.

This is exemplified early in Sam’s life while he was attending Hebrew school. Now, for most people Hebrew school is a horrid experience. If you have seen My Big Fat Greek Wedding, it’s identical to the Greek school scenes in that movie, just not funny. Sam, however, learned this:

“One thing that was always impactful in Hebrew school or after services was at the end, we would always sing the Mi Shebeirach, the prayer for healing, and I would hear people voice loved ones in need of healing. That was always a beautiful and bittersweet experience, but it always made me think about those important to me.”

And Kim describes their very meeting each other in spiritual terms: “My friends, at the University of Redlands, decided they wanted to go to a track meet that was happening at a nearby college to support our team. While there I remember seeing a person (Sam) run a race alone for whatever reason. I didn’t think much of it. Later that night I was hanging out with some friends in the freshman’s dorm. We were watching a movie when Sam came out of his room to the water fountain. My friend started chatting with him and instantly I knew he was special. This felt almost like a spiritual moment, like I knew he would eventually be my husband (this is something that I kept to myself for a very long time). We ended up talking for hours. A week later we were officially dating.”

This fits well with something Sam says he learned, again, back in Hebrew school: “A rabbi explained to us what he saw as God – and it was in the feelings you get from a conversation with another, experiencing the beauty and magnificence of nature, and anything that leads you to learning more about the world. That really resonated with me, because if that is how we experience and feel connected to God, not just some divine power guiding the way with a bunch of rules to follow, I could really get onboard with that.”

And this approach figured into how Kim says she reprioritized things in life, due to challenges in recent years leading up to this day: “These moments really showed me what was important in my life… I knew I needed to start living my life in the moment and being present because you never know… During this time Sam was so supportive and strong for me… He was there for me and really showed me that we needed to be married…”