A Toast

You guys. My sister got married last Saturday!! 

It was such joy. A celebration, a time to laugh, cry, be free, celebrate love and marriage and a new family beginning. Cousins and aunts and uncles and friends and old neighbors came into town from all over and we cried and laughed and ate for three days straight. We danced all night and we sang and we hugged each other's necks and told one another how much we loved each other. I got to see my sister radiate with light and squeal with glee as she married her love. I sat beside my brother at both the rehearsal and the reception and he made me laugh big laughs. He is a kindred spirit. It was a weekend to cherish.

Perfect in every way.

Here's the maid of honor speech I so thoroughly enjoyed writing and had the great honor of giving. It was a joy to speak these words. Every single word meant. Cheers!

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The older I get, the more I realize how much my family has shaped me. The person I have become, and the person I have hopes to become is largely because of my family. They are incredible people. The Knuckles family is one that believes in one another, looks out for one another, and laughs with one another. 

Recently, this past Father's Day, all of us came home, we gathered around the dinner table, and each of us asked my dad questions. Questions about fatherhood, his favorite memories, stories about our family. Then it was my mom's turn, and she looked at my dad and asked him, "what are you most proud of for each one of your kids? What do you admire about each one of them?"

And I'll never forget what he said about my sister. He looked at her and he said, your selflessness. You have always put other people before yourself. 

And I thought, that's it. 

My whole life, I have seen Meredith sacrifice her wants for other people's needs. I have seen her sacrifice the easy for the hard. I have seen her sacrifice the front seat on car rides (for me), her comfort in moving all the way across the globe. You love people to a sacrificial level. It has shaped me tremendously. 

So when it comes to tonight, to marriage, to this beautiful union together, you understand the sacrifice it takes. Your very life has always been about loving others as Christ has loved us. You love people so well, and I know you will continue to love David in this same sacrificial way for as long as you both shall live. 

So, if I could give you both two words, two pieces of advice, as you enter into the most beautiful thing this side of Heaven.

Be brave and to be kind. 

Be brave when life is hard. Have courage when it's unpredictable and uncertain, mysterious and unclear. Choose courage because God has promised to be with you. He has gone before you, He is with you, and He hems you in as you go. There is nowhere that He is not. 

Be kind. Choose kindness always. Choose to honor one another with your words and with your actions. Choose to create a home of kindness, and to shower one another with love, even when you don't feel like it. 

Meredith, thank you for the way you have influenced me. Thank you for your random dancing (which we've already seen a lot of today), your infectious silliness, the light you are in a sometime dark world. I love you and I am deeply proud to call you my sister. David, thank you for the way you care for my sister. You are not only my friend, but you are family.

 Many cheers, many prayers, and many blessings for many rich years together!