David Meigs is a novelist with a background in youth outreach, specializing in ministry to at-risk youth and their families. Though his writing is enjoyed by all ages, his novels provide a unique, life-changing quality, critical for the youth of today. David and his family lives in Seabeck, Washington.

Recently I had the privilege of performing the marriage ceremony of a lovely young couple in our community. It was a blessing to watch them grow in response to the premarital counseling in the weeks that preceded the wedding. We covered all the mechanics of the marital basics, with an extra emphasis on communication and conflict resolution. At each meeting we prayed for God’s leading, wisdom, and blessing over their union. They seemed so much in love. Their future is so bright.

Set in a beautiful park-like setting that would have rivaled the garden of Eden, the ceremony took place upon a small island that might seat as many as three hundred. An arched, wooden bridge offered the only access to the island and made for a perfect entrance for the wedding party, especially the bride. I wish you could have seen the flower girl and ring bearer. Neither of them was over three years old, and both were as cute as a button. Each performed their duties with a solemn pomp that would have made the Queen of England proud. God even squeezed in a few hours of sunshine to offset our usual Seattle-area rain. It was wonderful.

I am quite sure that even in the month or so between the day I penned this article and its publication, the happy couple are still floating on cloud nine, enjoying that magical honeymoon period, which carries the power to hold the pressures of the real world at bay—at least for a while. God bless them. I wish them well.

But not all weddings go so smoothly. I’ll never forget the day I was fortunate enough to take my lovely Darla’s hand in matrimony. Darla spent months looking for the perfect wedding dress. No bride ever looked lovelier. A great deal of planning went into every detail. Her father, also a minister, was to perform the ceremony. Everything was perfect―until the morning of the wedding.

About an hour before the ceremony was to start, my soon-to-be father-in-law, Ray, pulled me aside. I could tell he was worried. “Son, Darla’s not doing too well. I’ve never seen her this upset before.”

My mind was racing. Did she get into some kind of a spat with one of her sisters? “What is wrong? Is she okay?”

Ray shook his head and lifted both hands into the air, but there was a strange hint of laughter in his eyes and the corners of his mouth. “Son, her mamma and I think you’d better talk to her yourself.”

“But the groom is not supposed to see the bride in her dress before the wedding.”

“I know, but you’d better come.”

I followed Ray up the stairs and down the hallway to the changing room. My heart sank deeper with every step. Was she getting cold feet? Was I to become an unhappy member of the guys-left-standing-at-the-altar club? I found myself hoping it might only be a slight case of food poisoning. Ray knocked at the

door, and Darla’s mother let us in. One look at Darla confirmed my worst fears. That was not my gentle and loving bride looking back at me. It was BRIDEZILLA, and her pretty blue eyes were bulging. I had never seen her wound-up so tight. Before I could ask her what was wrong, she took three steps straight at me with both fists doubled.

“I can’t take the waiting any more. Not for one more minute. I want to get married right now!”

I looked at my wristwatch. “But, honey, it is still too early. The wedding is not set for almost an hour. Only about half the people have shown up.”

“I DON’T CARE! I can’t stand it. We are going to get married right NOW.”

I looked to her mom, dad, and sisters, hoping to get some kind of support. The wearied but humored expressions on their faces told me that my arguing could prove fatal to my health. A second look into the panicked eyes of my sweetheart, and all the tension washed right out of me. Darla’s folks were trying not to laugh. Even I had to bite my lip.

“If this is what you want, then it’s okay with me. I’ll go gather everyone right now. Wait just five minutes and you will hear the Wedding March.”

“I’m going to wait three minutes and then I am coming downstairs. I don’t care if everyone is ready. We are getting married NOW.”

The ceremony took place in under five minutes. Unfortunately, almost one third of our guests arrived too late for the wedding, despite the fact that they were all on time. But plenty of laughs were shared by all and only served to make our wedding all the more memorable. It only goes to show that sometimes life really is stranger than fiction.

Weddings are about new beginnings, and new beginnings are at the core of the inspirational fiction we write. And like a wedding, our novels are about the marriage of the human heart and soul to the heart and soul of our Creator. God accepts us (and our characters) as we are―warts, independent spirits, and all. It is about the joining of the perfect and the imperfect, and that is where the fun comes in. I like to think of it as a three legged race, with God as your partner. Every new step is a recipe for disaster, or perfection. And that is what makes writing inspirational fiction so much fun.

That is it for now. Until next month may God inspire many wonderful new beginnings within the life-transforming fiction you write.