Love Wins

I was preparing to perform a wedding. I love the wedding day. I love watching the bride and the groom look into each other’s eyes. I love how there is a sense of romance in the air. I love watching people get together, have a few drinks, and celebrate love.

I think people love weddings for the same reason that we love romantic movies. For at least one day, everyone in the room seems to believe that marriage is good, life is good, and love conquers all and lasts forever.

Weddings, then, are a place to hope against hope. They are a place where the world seems to be right, at least for a few hours. Love is celebrated, and it conquers all. We like to hope. That is why we love weddings.

There is a lot of reason to stop hoping, though. As I was preparing, I heard Jewel’s song You Were Meant for Me. In the song, she is discussing her heartbreak. In reflecting on her experience, she sings, “hearts are broken every day.”

This reality is every bit as true as the wedding experience. Hearts are broken. Love conquers all, except when it doesn’t. Sometimes, as anyone who has truly loved and has been heartbroken knows, love is not enough. And every heartbreak, break up, divorce, stupid fight, and tear that comes with these experiences is a testimony that things are not how they are supposed to be yet.

But, better times are coming. We hope against hope for a day when human relationships are restored. The prophets of old chose imagery of swords being turned to plowshares. Weapons of war will be turned to productive tools. Now, human ingenuity is devoted to finding more effective ways to kill, oppress, and dominate one another. One day, love wins.

However, not only are better days coming, better days are here. The wedding I was at last night reminded me of that. A new day has dawned. Love has already won but it hasn’t won yet.

We are forced to live in the tension. As we do, we should celebrate the times when it seems that love conquers all. We should also mourn when it doesn’t. We should look forward to the day when it always will.