As I stood outside the door of the room where my daughter and her bridesmaids had just finished dressing, the wedding coordinator cautioned me, “Don’t cry.”
She opened the door.
I cried.
When I saw my daughter in her wedding dress for the first time, I lost it.
Charlene looked at the ceiling and fanned her face to keep her makeup from running.
The bridesmaids sang silly songs to distract us.
I somehow managed to pull myself together and we made it down the aisle with no more tears, although we both had to tell each other, “We don’t need to cry,” several times before all was said and done.
That’s an emotional moment for any father.
It was especially emotional for me because, humanly speaking, I shouldn’t have been there. When I suffered a sudden cardiac arrest (SCA) at home–in the country–at 4 am on January 27th, 2021, my chances of survival were statistically less than 10%.
In a large part, although many people were involved in my survival/recovery, the primary reason (humanly speaking) why I’m still here is that Charlene administered CPR for at least 15 minutes before the Campbell Volunteer Fire Department took over.
She told me that while she was keeping my heart going she said, “You. Are. Going. To. Walk. Me. Down. The. Aisle!”
And so I did.
And as I anticipated, and now reflect on, that amazing walk, I have often also marveled at the wonderful providence of God in having her in the right place at the right time.
But that’s a story for another day.
