A basket of flowers

I was only 5 when my uncle and his fiancée asked me to be their flower girl. I had never been to a wedding before, but I knew about weddings. Princess Diana had married Prince Charles the summer before, and, of course, we had the paper doll set. In the early ’80s, every little girl wanted to be part of a wedding. I couldn’t wait.

That morning in May was a blur as my parents and siblings and I got ready. My younger brother would be the ring bearer wearing a tiny tux to fit a 3-year-old. And I would drop rose petals as we walked up the aisle of the church. My mother had explained it to me several times. I was nervous, but I knew I could do it.

When we arrived at the church, though, we found out there was a problem. All the flowers had been delivered except mine. The bridesmaids and the bride had their bouquets, but my basket hadn’t made it to the church, Alumni Memorial Chapel at what is now Loyola University Maryland.

Luckily, there were flowering azalea bushes nor far from the chapel. My father – and perhaps a few others – went to work, plucking flowers from the branches so I would have some to scatter along the aisle.

There were baskets of birdseed around, ready to be tossed later when the newlyweds walked out the doors. We emptied one and filled it with the blossoms. By the time the music started playing, I was ready. I had a full basket of petals to drop gently on the floor as we processed toward the altar.

When I think back on the beauty and the excitement of that day, I smile at the memory of everyone pitching in to solve the problem. Part of the florist delivery might have been forgotten, but nature had provided a solution. The bushes had more than enough blooms to fill our needs and then some, and the bride’s entrance couldn’t have been lovelier.

Every wedding day has its wrinkle – with the bridesmaid dress that gets lost with the luggage, the heirloom wedding cake knife that was left in someone’s backseat or the groomsman who misses the wedding because his baby is born the day before. Those just become part of the entertaining stories we tell and the wonderfully rich memories we share.

Of course, even the most ordinary day has unexpected twists and turns. Even when you think you’re prepared, life can be derailed. You run out of an ingredient you need for dinner. A child gets sick just before the school bus arrives. You lose power right before your guests arrive for a party.

But God always provides what we need. He gives us the strength and the creativity and even the companions to handle those surprise situations – and even at the most difficult times, he accompanies us. Even when the path might be dark and we aren’t certain of where to go, he is there to help us take one more step.

“When we ask, God gives us what we need to build his kingdom,” St. Catherine of Siena told us.

So, we can embrace another day with the certainty that we will face unexpected challenges, but our Lord will be with us. He will give us the courage to take on whatever lies ahead, and somehow our basket will be full.

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