Dear friends, let us continue to love one another, for love comes from God. Anyone who loves is a child of God and knows God. But anyone who does not love does not know God, for God is love. – 1 John 4:7-8
Saturday April 8 was an exceptionally wonderful day here at Maul Hall. Rebekah and I were privileged to host the wedding for our awesome nephew, Micah, and his equally amazing bride, Jeanette.
The quiet, intimate, simple ceremony was one of those rare and memorable occasions that literally seep into the fabric of a home and set up residence in its soul. Our home has been blessed immeasurably, and we are the richer for it.
Micah – Tom and Rachel McMahan’s middle child – is the third of the ten Alexander grandchildren. He’s a brilliant mechanical engineer who makes engines faster and more powerful, and he’s done it for several car manufacturers. Recently, he helped design Ford’s winning “24 Hours of Le Mans” engine. Most importantly, however, Micah McMahan is one of the most genuine and good natured people I know.
Jeanette obviously loves Micah – which is pretty much all we need to know. But she’s also a beautiful, creative, inventive woman who uses her super-smarts to help a small brewery in Charlotte create cutting edge craft beers that consistently win all kinds of local and national accolades. She’s sensitive, full of life, loves to cook, has a generous spirit, and is the perfect compliment to Micah; we couldn’t be happier about Jeanette joining the extended family.
The quiet, intimate, simple ceremony was one of those rare and memorable occasions that literally seep into the fabric of a home and set up residence in its soul. Our home has been blessed immeasurably, and we are the richer for it.
The Ceremony:
The wedding was, quite simply, Micah, Jeanette and the preacher (plus of course the two dogs). I got to be here via the privilege of being the preacher’s husband. Then, as North Carolina requires one more witness, my mother walked over for the ceremony.
Saturday April 8 was as perfect a spring day as we could have hoped for, the garden was beautiful for the occasion, and Rebekah’s words about generosity in relationships could not have been more on point.
Generosity isn’t just about what we give, it’s also about the grace of allowing others to enjoy such a sweet blessing. We put one another first (that’s mutual submission), we put God first in our lives (that’s following Jesus), and we make the choice – every day – to live in the light of the Jesus quality of generous love (that’s living our faith out loud).
- We put one another first (that’s mutual submission),
- We put God first in our lives (that’s following Jesus),
- We make the choice – every day – to live in the light of the Jesus quality of generous love (that’s living our faith out loud).
Rebekah and I feel extremely good about Micah and Jeanette. We both know and enjoy the long term benefits of that kind of generous love, because it defines our relationship; and we practice loving intentionally even more today than we did the day we were first married, almost 38 years ago.
There are a lot of photos posted here, but each one is spilling over with so much genuine joy that I honestly can’t hold back!
May we all be so blessed in our relationships; may we all live forward, from this point, with our commitments renewed, and our generous spirits activated by God’s generous grace.
In love, and because of love – DEREK
Very nice photos. I love the wiener dogs. 🙂
Congratulations, Micah!!!
Thanks for the great write up on Micah and Jeanette’s wedding. Felt like I was there. The back yard was beautiful and the dogs added that family feeling. Really enjoyed the pictures. Thanks for being the official photographer and witness. Please pass to Grace our thanks for being part of the ceremony and for making it legit.
My pleasure, Tom. And it did my mum the world of good right after her hospital visit.