Omar & Savannah's Rehearsal Dinner

We just got back from a beautiful wedding weekend celebrating Omar and his bride, Savannah. This is our 3rd wedding in just over a year and with the three celebrations we've had, I have figured out that the Rehearsal Dinner night is one of my favorite parts. We have a time of sharing where close family and friends get to stand up and share with the couple what they mean to them, how they appreciate their friendship, and of course, funny memories!

I am including what I shared about Omar at their Rehearsal Dinner (mostly because some have asked me for it) so in honor of the newlyweds, here we go:

Before we adopted, I had a recurring dream of a little boy with a round face and big smiling eyes looking up at me. I would wake up and think "That's my son" and say a prayer for him wondering where he might be. Now when I remember that dream, I see Omar’s face. I'm thankful God gave us you, Omar. 

Some of you may know we adopted Omar from Colombia when he was seven years old. He only spoke Spanish when he first came to us. Omar repeated a couple of phrases many times a day when we first adopted him.

The first was “Me acompanas?” “Will you join me?” Whether he was going out to the back yard or just to the back room, he would look up at you with his sweet round face and big green eyes, and through a smile ask, “Me acompanas?” He didn’t want to go anywhere alone. Not to play, not to school, not to bed and not even to the bathroom!

It was probably a mix of wanting the company but also getting used to his new family and new surroundings. A lot of change occurred in his first seven years.  

Omar’s phrase reminds me of someone else that has said something similar. Jesus invites us to join Him. We have that invitation every day multiple times a day when we have opportunities to love other people and serve those in need. 

The second phrase that Omar often repeated was “Mira! Mira!” “Look! Look!” Omar has always been able to pick up anything athletic quickly. He learned how to do flips on the trampoline and on the ground. He could walk a tight rope with ease. Jumping on a pogo stick, skate boarding, water skiing, tree climbing…Omar could pick up, climb up, glide on anything in a flash. He excelled in any sport he tried. Gymnastics, football, track, and he set swimming records in the 8^th grade as if he had been a swimmer his whole life.

Anytime we had guests at the house or when Omar learned something new, he exclaimed “Mira Mira” and ran out to show off what he could do or he proudly brought his creative work for us to admire. 

This phrase also reminds me of the times God reveals His glory for us to admire…sometimes a colorful sunset, a vast starry sky when we can get away from city lights, or the delight of cardinals calling from the trees close by…these are all times God is saying “Look! Look!” and we can enjoy His handiwork and marvel at His works.

Some things have not changed. Omar has found the one to join him in life and Savannah is the most important person for him to ask, “Me acompanas?” “Will you join me?” The day he asked her to marry him, he looked at her with those big green eyes, and with a smile, asked that familiar question to the most important person to receive it.

He will now have a lifetime to exclaim, “Look Look!” as they start their adventures together exploring all God has for them in the years to come.