Free I Do by Melody Carlson

little slow on the uptake.”
    “Hey, as long as you're on the uptake,” I say. “That's what matters.”
    “You're a good girl, Caitlin.”
    I thank her and tell her I love her and then hang up.
    “So that's it for the dress?” says Jenny, Looking up from her laptop.
    “Yeah.” Then I tell her about my revelation on the bench. And to my relief, she seems to respect this.
    “That'd be hard though,” she says. “I mean, most girls have certain expectations about their wedding day. I don't know if I could give all that up.”
    “You could if you believed God had something better for you.”
    She nods and turns back to her computer. “Yeah, maybe so.”
    DEAR GOD, THANKS FOR MEETING ME ON THE BENCH TODAY. YOU ARE SO AWESOME! THANK YOU FOR SETTING ME STRAIGHT ABOUT MY WEDDING. AND HELP ME TO KEEP GIVING IT ALL BACK TO YOU. I AM SO RELIEVED NOT TO BE CARRYING THAT WEIGHT ANYMORE. YOU LOVE ME SO MUCH, GOD! THANK YOU! THANK YOU! THANK YOU! AMEN.

EIGHT
Wednesday, November 16
    So far so good with our little nightly weigh-in plan. Jenny has put on a whole two pounds, although I still weigh the same. But I attribute this to the fact that I'm now doing Pilates and muscle weighs more than fat. At least that's what Liz told me when she loaned me her Pilates video. And since I've been doing them every night, I think I've actually turned some fat into muscle. Jenny works out with me. At first she got tired after only a few minutes, but she's increasing her endurance.
    Mostly, I'm just relieved that she's still eating. Okay, she's not exactly a porker, but she's eating a lot more than before. And even though I haven't lost any weight yet, I can already tell that my stomach is firmer. I feel hopeful.
    Since last weekend, I have barely given the wedding a thought. It's like I know everything's going to work outjust fine. Even so, I'm bracing myself for the upcoming weekend. I'm sure that between Josh's mother and mine, there will be some new development or questions. But I am ready.
Sunday, November 20
    To my amazement, the weekend went smoothly and uneventfully. I guess everyone is consumed with Thanksgiving plans at the moment. Kind of a wedding planning reprieve for me. And next will be Christmas. Maybe I'll be able to finish fall term without too much pressure.
    Josh and I had lunch with Chloe, Allie, and Laura on Saturday. The girls are getting ready to go out on a holiday tour. You could really see the excitement in their eyes.
    “You make me wish that I was going,” I told them. “It sounds like it's going to be great.”
    “We wish you were going too,” said Allie.
    “How are the newlyweds doing?” I asked.
    “All right.” Allie nodded. “Sounded like they had an awesome time on their honeymoon. My mom even went parasailing.” She laughed. “Can you believe that?”
    “Good for her,” said Josh. “Maybe we'll have to do something like that on our honeymoon.” He winked at me from across the table.
    “Do you guys know where you're going yet?” asked Laura.
    “Maybe Mexico. Caitlin and I plan to spend our summer at the mission.”
    Chloe frowned. “If you're spending the whole summer down there, maybe you should go someplace different for your honeymoon.”
    “Maybe.” Josh considered this. “Well, there's plenty of time to figure it all out.”
    And then I decided to tell these girls about how I'd put our wedding on God's altar. I know these girls well enough to know that they'll get it. And they totally did.
    “That is so cool, Caitlin,” said Chloe.
    “Yeah,” agreed Allie. “You're such a great role model for us.”
    I had to laugh about that. Then I confessed to them about how just the day before I'd made such a total mess of things. I mean, I don't want these girls thinking I'm something I'm not. “It's a learning thing,” I finally said.
    “Life's like that,” said Chloe.
    She's right. Life is like that. But without God it would be learning through the school of hard knocks on a daily