the big table is a magical place. when jeremy built it for me some two years ago, he did so because I felt like we needed it. my dad had just passed away a few months before that, and I wanted to have a place where we could connect to him, where what we were doing here on our square patch of earth would mirror what he was getting to do in heaven. I had no idea just how magical and miraculous a place it would become for me. but each time we host another big table dinner night, I find myself overwhelmed in the best possible way. food is prepared, flowers are purchased, linens are cleaned, china is selected and the silver is brought out, and stories are shared, all in anticipation of the mystery. the mystery is just that…something we can’t quite put our fingers on, but that everyone at the table is very aware that we are all trees in a story about a forest..we are part of some grander, more beautiful drama than we ever imagined.
amy is a magical person. the first time I met her, we were under the stars as she played a farm show, and I was immediately gripped at the mystery going on around her…the same mystery I described above. her music is powerful, but to watch her live is even more so. and that is just the beginning of who she is. we were convinced by the end of the night that our meeting was about to lead to a deep, abiding friendship, but we had no idea how true that was. I have laughed and wept with this dear friend. I’ve watched her fall apart, and watched God put her back together..and she has done the exact same for me.
so when we decided to host her birthday dinner at the big table months earlier, we couldn’t have had any idea just how heavenly the night would become…as chris had decided it was also the night he was going to ask her to become his wife. so we potted succulents, washed off the big table, and brought out the burlap, the lace that used to cover my nana’s table, and the antique english china my mom gave me when we were engaged. we poured the wine, filled the shasta oven-turned-cooler with beer, plugged the lights in, and turned the music on. friends came from near and far, bearing casseroles and pies (amy bringing her specialty sweet potato pie) and we had a night of laughing, crying happy tears, and toasting amy…chris gave his toast last. we all thought it only fitting, since his came with a ring at the end.
we couldn’t have been happier to play a part, both in the story of lovely amy’s life, and in the story of her and chris beginning their forever. here’s our meager attempt to bring you into the mystery, both in photographs, and in a very honest rough cut short film . . . enjoy, friends!
by the parsons
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