Katy McKenna Raymond  
Personal blog of christian writer Katy McKenna Raymond in Kansas City, Missouri

Personal blog of christian
writer & fallible mom
Katy McKenna Raymond
in Kansas City, Missouri


Katy is represented by
Greg Johnson at
WordServe Literary

Read more Katy at
LateBoomer.net

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What A Feeling

Maybe you’ve never had this feeling, a feeling like the sound of many rushing waters.

Then again, you might have given birth to a baby, not realizing beforehand that your whole life would change in an instant at the sound of your helpless infant’s insistant wail. You might have lost a parent, or a brother, or a friend, and felt the sudden completeness of their absence with a furious intensity you didn’t know existed.

Or maybe you, like Doug and I, have given your only daughter in marriage.

You don’t know what to expect. You have no roadmap, no manual, no role models whose paths exactly mirror your own, no precise predictions or prophecies on which to hang your hopes for this beautiful young woman, the joy of your heart.

You can’t even say for certain whether you will laugh or weep when the groom kisses his bride, when the father dances one last time with his baby girl, or when the two of them—now one—drive into the barely lit night, into a new life of their own making.

You are surprised by the tiniest of details, then. You’re stunned by the fragility of the falling petals strewn in the aisle, petals you want to gather back into virgin rosebuds as if they are your own life’s spent heartbeats. You’re astonished by the trembling hands of the strong man placing the ring on her finger, by the very womanliness of the child now fully grown in the merest twinkling of an eye. 

When the feeling happens to you, even if you’ve never felt anything quite like it before, you’ll recognize it. It arises from a place so deep-seated in your breathless soul that it feels like salvation, like redemption, like a sudden escape from earthboundedness to heaven itself.

It’s fleeting, but real.

It can’t last, but you will remember it always.

For this much, this much is forever true: Many rushing waters cannot quench love, and the mightiest of rivers cannot wash it away.

Posted by Katy on 07/01/07 at 08:42 PM
Fallible Comments...
  1. A truly beautiful post, Katy. You certainly have had your share of familial milestones this year. Seems 2007 suits ya'll, all lovely like.
    Posted by Jennifer  on  07/02/07  at  03:35 PM
  2. katy, how does one not bawl like a baby in these pristine, fleeting milestone moments? i am a teriffic sap, and cannot imagine attempting to wear mascara to our own childrens' graduations, weddings, etc.
    i may be calling you in a few years, o experienced one ;)
    Posted by lisa  on  07/02/07  at  03:56 PM
  3. Don't be surprised if it's not so fleeting. Yes, other "items of the day" may take over...but a glance at a photo...that rose pedal you picked up falling out of a book...and that feeling is back in the forefront.

    Congratulations on loving a child into a greater love.

    And of course for surviving a wedding :)

    Grace & Peace,

    M
    Posted by Michael Main  on  07/02/07  at  04:46 PM
  4. Okay, I lied. THIS is the most heartwarming thing you've ever written. This type of writing is your calling, Katy. It touches the soul. Even if someone read this who didn't know you, or Doug, or Carrie and Marc, they would relate and understand and FEEL your words. That is the sign of a writer. Like I told you on Saturday, I'm just going to ride your coattails to my own fame... :)
    Posted by Bridget  on  07/02/07  at  05:34 PM
  5. Ah, so very beautiful. I have known these moments. I remember my daughters' weddings with such clarity.

    Congratulations, Katy and Doug.

    -rlh-
    Posted by Robin  on  07/03/07  at  02:45 AM
  6. This brought back such great memories. Karen & Matt just celebrated their 8th anniversary and I can remember every detail of their wedding - I couldn't stop smiling. Karen's dad sat right behind me and he couldn't stop sobbing. I stood and gave my consent to the marriage, then hugged my daughter. After a minute Karen said, "Mom, you're going to have to let go." She still says that to me sometimes.
    Posted by alison  on  07/03/07  at  01:54 PM
  7. Bridget is right... you have such a way with words, Katy... capturing the memories, painting the moment. It's poignant.
    Posted by Sunflower  on  07/04/07  at  01:04 AM
  8. Jennifer--You are right! This has been a banner year for Raymond Family Milestones! So very much fun....

    lisa--Girl, I only added a Kleenex to my tiny purse one minute before the ceremony! And I had to bum it off my friends, whose purse contents I didn't completely trust to be...orderly! And I ended up needing that tissue pretty badly, I did...

    Michael 1--I think you're onto something. In fact, of course, I know you are. Heck, I still weep when I encounter the handwriting of a loved one who's been dead 30 years. Yeah. It's like that. ;)

    Bridgie--I think you're looking ahead and realizing it won't be long till these events are happening with your two darling children. And you've been the chief babysitter and bottle washer for all your nieces and nephews! But yes, it's sentimental, and I can't help but write it that way....You are sweet with the compliments. I wish I could live up to them!

    Robin--Thank you, dear lady. I'm learning to hang on to the good with everything in me! You may not realize this, but I have a tendency to be, let's just say, melancholy! :) I even have a sign on my desk that says, "The Irish have an abiding sense of tragedy, which sustains them through momentary periods of joy." But there are so many delightful moments to celebrate and remember in this life, aren't there? Such joy. Amazing, really, the gift of it.

    alison--I can picture you smiling, and clinging, too!!! VERY cute what Karen said. Here's what Carrie told Doug during their father/daughter dance, "Dad, this is the most fun wedding I've EVER been to!" I think that is darling. He'll never forget those words!

    Sunflower--Thank you. Have fun at the wedding you're in this weekend!!! Paint me a pic on your blog afterwards, or at least let someone paint you with make-up! You'll have a blast.
    Posted by Katy  on  07/05/07  at  11:49 AM
  9. katy, i LOVE your quote about the irish. i'm half irish, and it tends to be an interesting combination, the passionate italian side having it out with the irish melancholy. i can be passionate about cloudy days, rainy weeks, and gray skies. hmmm...
    Posted by lisa  on  07/07/07  at  01:49 PM
  10. "You’re stunned by the fragility of the falling petals strewn in the aisle, petals you want to gather back into virgin rosebuds as if they are your own life’s spent heartbeats."

    That may be one of the most beautiful sentences I've ever read.

    Lovely post, Katy, made all the more moving because we approach the same milestone--giving our only daughter in marriage on Sept. 15. Thanks for the glimpse.
    Posted by Jeanne Damoff  on  07/18/07  at  01:28 PM
  11. Sigh. How is it that I so often cry when I read your posts, Katy? You have such a lovely way of capturing emotion on a page. I know I'll remember if not these words the feelings behind them when my turn comes to give my only girl to the man God has for her.
    Posted by D'Ann Mateer  on  07/01/10  at  12:40 AM
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