It was a perfect day for the big late afternoon wedding. The bride was radiant and the groom was all smiles as they repeated their vows. Friends and family of the couple had gathered to wish the couple well.
After the wedding, we hurried to the reception at a large hotel. The dining room had been decorated and the food was set out for the guests to enjoy.
“Would you like to go ahead and make a few family pictures outside while the light is good or do you want to go ahead and cut the cake so that people can eat it after they finish the Hors D’oeuvres?
“Oh, I think we better gather the family together before the children get cranky or some of them have to leave. And, we certainly want pictures outside while there is good light.” The bride said.
It took a while to get about 40 people together and get them outside. But, we managed to get all of them lined up on the big steps at the back of the hotel and make several pictures of the big group and some of individual families with the couple.
Just as the photography session was coming to a close, one of the waiters came out the door and motioned to me.
“You might want to get inside pretty soon and take the cake pictures because the cake is about to fall.”
So, we hurried inside only to find two waitresses behind the cake with spatulas under each side of the third layer of the four layer cake. Not wanting the waitresses in the photograph of the couple cutting the cake, we posed them between the two waitresses.
“I’ll get them focused here and when I say ‘Ready’, you two ladies step back very carefully leaving the spatulas in place and I’ll snap the picture at that moment.”
“Ready”, John said, and the two ladies very carefully stepped back. As they did, the cake began to tumble before the couple could slice it. What was once a beautiful wedding cake lay all over the end of the table and onto the floor in one big mess! The groom’s mother had worked for hours baking and decorating that elaborate cake only to have her masterpiece end up in the floor before the couple even had a taste. She was so horrified she left the reception sobbing. It seems she had failed to insert the wooden dowels that must be put in each layer before the layers are stacked and before it is iced in order to stabilize it.
Have you ever felt that things were crumbling all around you and you wanted to run away sobbing? It might be that you were handed the pink slip at work; it might be a catastrophic health diagnosis; perhaps a divorce in the family. It could be a number of things that all of us have encountered or will encounter during our life time.
God has the answer for all of our trials and tribulations. Oh, the answer may not come today or tomorrow or even next week. It may not even be the answer we were expecting, but, if we put our trust in Him instead of our own strength, He will handle the situation. Two verses come to mind as I think about this:
“But they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength. They shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint.” Isaiah 40:31 TLB
“Why are you down in the dumps, dear soul? Why are you crying the blues? Fix my eyes on God—soon I’ll be praising again. He puts a smile on my face. He’s my God.” Psalm 43:5 The Message
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