A Special Rite of Passage

It's not everyday your oldest daughter gets married. And, prayerfully, it will only happen once. But weeks leading up to that day are the most precious time in a mother/daughter relationship. Ours was no different. My daughter was away at college in Missouri. She came home a couple of weeks before her big day, and naturally they were filled with last minute things to do.

One thing my husband and I wanted to do for her, that will always be a precious memory, was to surprise her with a Rites of Passage ceremony. Some people do this when their young daughter's body becomes a young woman's, or when she graduates from high school. We wanted our daughter's rite of passage to be meaningful, and to take place during one of the most important times in her life - at her wedding. Here's what we did:

We secretly contacted a few key people that had made a huge impact on her life, and told them our plans. We presented each of them with a certain topic and asked them to spend time in prayer about what they would say to her. We asked them to search the Scriptures to find a verse or two that corresponds with their topic, and asked that they present her with a gift of some sort after they spoke. Of course we would supply the gift, unless they had something special they wanted to give. We then asked each one to meet her at certain spots on the grounds where the wedding would be held, and before the rehearsal began.

We actually started the ceremony at our home, and talked to her about giving her our blessing on her marriage. We gave her a few scriptures, prayed with her and then proceeded to the wedding site. We dropped her off with instructions to speak with the first person she saw (that she knew) and they would give her further instructions. She was given our blessing and we talked to her about God's blessings. From the other people, she was given advice about purity in marriage, about hope, love, integrity, and then prayed over by those godly people. The ceremony ended with my husband speaking to her, standing just inside the gazebo where she was to be married the next day. He spoke to her about loving her husband and being his queen. He told her how proud he was of her and how much he loved her. He then presented her with a beautiful tiara, which she wore for her wedding.

That was four years ago today.

Now, in allowing reality take center stage here, this must be said... earlier on the day of the rehearsal, our daughter went off to have her nails made pretty, and to spend some time with her friends before the rehearsal. I asked her to be back home by a certain time because we had something planned. She made it home just in time to quickly get ready for the rehearsal, and I know she was pretty upset with us that we rushed her out of the door. She wasn't thrilled with the way her hair looked or that she didn't have time to even shower. But, I hope we made up for it with all the surprises she ended the night with. Either that, or she's harboring evil thoughts of us and can't wait to *run away with her husband! (*see previous post)