A weekend trip? Ya shure, you betcha!

I have a tenuous relationship in my life. It’s complicated and please don’t judge me.

It’s with the state of Minnesota.

No, No I don't.

I’m serious, I struggle with this particular piece of US geography. Nearly any other state, I have moderate to friendly feelings toward (except maybe Illinois, but that’s a different story from when I lived there as a child).

But Minnesota… that’s where John would go when he was away from me. From before our relationship started, when I just had a crush on him, Minnesota was a cold, snowy, stupid place for this guy that I really liked to go to college. Then, when we started dating, my resentment of Minnesota just grew worse. Even my handful of visits out to Minnesota, where the state tried to win me over with its outdoorsy, artsy charm, I remained obstinate. I would not like it there.

Then, John transferred schools and my feelings should have evaporated. After all, I won over that state. But John does not share my cold feelings. And this continually irked me! How could he miss it there? But he did. And he particularly missed the people he met and became friends with in his two years of attending Bethel University.

So, when his good friend, Zach, got engaged, John told me, “Rose, I really want to go to his wedding out in Minnesota.” And I agreed.

I watched the months tick down to our trip with a mixture of ambivalence, horror, and excitement (It was, after all, John and my first trip since our honeymoon).

Then, the time came, last weekend. Minnesota began their overtures with unusually fair weather (no snow, temperatures in the 40s-50s). We landed in Minnesota at 2pm and the wedding began at 4pm, so we hurried to the hotel with a ride from John’s friend, Liv, and switched clothes, then continued on to the Theodore Wirth Chalet.

The wedding was a beautiful, intimate, meaningful ceremony and reception.

Justine (the bride) has similar taste to mine, so I loved her decorations with maps, garlands, and candles. I do not know Zach or Justine very well (I had met Zach before, not Justine), but the toasts by their families almost had me in tears!

John and I are so excited for Zach and Justine and the life they have just started together. They, like us, feel called to full-time ministry and we are so excited to see and be involved in the path that God has for them.

We spent the rest of the weekend meeting up with various friends of John. We had lunch with one of his professors from Bethel where I learned a lot about music, getting gigs, orchestration, and how orchestras for musicals work. Then, we had dinner with John’s classmate, Robert, and his wife and baby. We talked about theology, life being married and other random topics. Sunday, we went to lunch with Becky who played clarinet with John at Bethel.

Spending time with John’s friends and getting to know more about his world made me appreciate John’s appreciation for Minnesota. The weekend forced me to see some of the charm of the state and especially of the people that John grew close to out there.

But I still think the state gets way too much snow.

Minnesota Image credit