It's interesting; we find
ourselves in the midst of struggle. And in some ways the point of disagreement
at the core of this struggle, is the question of how much control do we really
have over our fates. Is success to be attributed mostly to us and our talents?
Is failure utterly our fault and worthy of derision? Or perhaps, we must be
more humble, and recognize that so much of our good fortune and great
privilege, is beyond our control. Perhaps, we must recognize that, conversely,
there, but for the grace of God, or karma or luck, go we.
Claire and Kace, and how
they came to stand before us here today, remind us of that. After all, it's not
that when Claire first lay her eyes on Kace, she was not thinking of him as a
good mate. She just didn't think he was a good mate for her...
Listen to Claire in her own
words (you really can't make this stuff up...): "Initially, I thought Kace
would be the perfect match for my sweet friend, Cori. He was charismatic,
unapologetically himself and made everyone around him feel special." She
thought she might have some convincing to do, because of, well, Kace's approach
during that initial meeting: "I think originally, Kace was trying to
network and looking for the next 'big deal'..." She tried to make the
match, but was ultimately unsuccessful. "Eventually... I realized there
wasn’t a love connection between Cori and Kace. As a failed matchmaker, he
ultimately wore me down and asked me on a date…"
Now, Kace picks up the story
from here, and with Claire's parents standing so close, he definitely deserves
points for honesty: "I can remember telling my dad I was going on a date
that night, and he asked, 'Do you really like her?' I responded by telling him,
'Not really. I kind of just feel like taking a girl out to a nice dinner.' [Is
this guy a hopeless romantic or what?] We went to Oak for dinner in the Design
District, and my views quickly changed. I was immediately attracted to her
intelligence, self-confidence, humor, and honesty. I had never found another
girl like that, and I still have not."
Now, he definitely redeems
himself at the end there, and though we might laugh at the comedy of errors
that began with Claire's lackluster matchmaking and continued with Kace's
quickly to evaporate cluelessness about the prize he had landed, again, there
is a profound message here. Obviously, in all areas of life, we must put one
foot in front of the other, and try our best. However, some of the best things
in life come to us by no merit of our own. (And, hopefully, as few times as
possible for each of us, the converse is true.)
And, so when a wonderful
thing happens to us, like Claire realizing that Kace is HER match, like Kace
realizing mid-date, that this ONE is different, we are obliged not to be
matter-of-fact about it. We are called upon to be joyously thankful and appreciative
for the invisible hand of luck or providence guiding us towards that for which
we hold no given claim.
Claire, however, says it
much better than I ever could, "I guess you could say that Kace stumbled
into my life and never quite left. Loud, clumsy, loyal, overly comfortable in a
way that often makes me uncomfortable, he is the most genuine, kind and amazing
person that I have ever met. Little did Kace know, the day we met he did find a
BIG DEAL… a wife!"
