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Wedding of 70-somethings imbues guests with hope

Delighted.

That's the only word that fit the looks on the faces of the people around me.

The smiles started with the entrance of the bridal party: two granddaughters, a daughter, an old, old friend who walked with effort but determination. But then you expect people to smile at a wedding.

It was the entrance of the bride and groom, arm in arm, that was unexpected. Ages 78 and 79, they strode confidently down the aisle, stopping to shake a hand or squeeze an arm as they walked. And we were delighted.

It wasn't just that they are good people, though they certainly are. It wasn't only the uniqueness of the wedding service, though it was unusual in many ways. It wasn't even their ages, though that did seem important in some way.

As I thought more about it, I realized that our response, our delight, had to do with the statement of hope our friends were making that day.

I guess all weddings are "hopeful." Making a marriage work is so difficult now that it takes a good deal of hope even to give it a try. But this marriage in particular spoke to hope more than most.

My friends had lived long and fulfilling lives. They had, as we all do, also experienced their share of disappointment, loss, pain and suffering. No one would have blamed them if they had been hesitant to make one more commitment, set one more difficult task before themselves.

Yet they had hope. With all their experience, with no guarantees as to their future, they had hope and were boldly acting on that hope.

No one put this in words, but we all sensed it. That's what we were so delighted about. Hope is one of the most basic of human emotions. It is an outlook that is foundational to how we live our lives.

And hope, I'm afraid, is also an attitude easily lost as experience takes its toll on us. Too many of us abandon hope; living, rather, in fear and despair, searching for a safety and security that does not exist.

The hope expressed in this very special wedding somehow inspired and renewed those of us privileged to attend. So we smiled in delight. It isn't often that hope is expressed so clearly, so openly, so completely. Thanks, friends, for the hope you shared with us. God bless you.

• Dr. Ken Potts is on the staff of Samaritan Counseling Center in Naperville and Downers Grove. He is the author of "Mix Don't Blend, A Guide to Dating, Engagement and Remarriage With Children."

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