Canon in D

I remember the first time I heard Canon in D and recognized it as separate from other classical music. It was the first time I saw Father of the Bride (the Steve Martin version, not the Spencer Tracy version). Sure, I had heard it before; my parents had it on a CD in their classical music collection. It was not until Father of the Bride, however, that I realized what a beautiful wedding song it was. After that I started hearing it a lot at weddings. It was probably popular before that and I just didn't know it, because it had blended into the background music of my life.

Eight years after I first saw Father of the Bride, Canon in D played at my wedding. It had remained a hit in my mind through middle school and teenage angst, through high school and acne and crushes and homework (lots of homework), through my first love and college, independence, our engagement and finally wedding planning. It lasted. I realized this afternoon when I heard the song--this time as part of a Christmas CD--that I have now lived with this song longer since I married than I did between hearing it and marrying. Yet those eight years I described above, from when I was about 12 to just under 21, were some of the most formative of my life. That was when I made decisions, good and bad, that still impact my life. Thankfully the decisions that most impact me today were good ones, even if at the time they were not made according to popular wisdom. A girl in college just does not marry at 20 in this day and age, after all. What was I thinking? And to a boy who, at 19, had taken time off school to pursue full-time ministry? Clearly neither of us was right in the head.

Today looking back on that day, 10 years ago this December, when we said, "I do," no, of course we had no idea what we were walking into. Canon in D was the song that kept me to that day, and now I can tell you that all of the pomp and fanciness of our wedding day has been surpassed by the beautiful life God has built for us. The roller coaster is by no means at an end, but we have each other. I hope and pray we continue to live a life set to beautiful music.