The Wedding Bouquet
March 3, 2024 | 5:18 am
Have you ever noted that at the modern weddings, the bride performs one last rite just before she heads for her honeymoon with her newly wedded husband of throwing the bridal bouquet? It’s done as a point of entertainment by most MCs. The bride throws the flower she has been holding all day to the back to very excited friends and bride’s maids and whoever catches the flower is believed to be the next bride. This 1300AD wedding tradition from England is believed to be a sign of fertility and blessing.
Before throwing, the bride keeps teasing the single ladies who are at this instance the most hopeful brides to be. Most of the single ladies that come out to catch the bouquet of flowers are more often the bride’s friends or those who admire the bride or those that see her as an icon in the society. They come out with zeal and excitement of catching the eminent blessing. 
In 2 Kings 2, Elijah tries to get away from Elisha in three memorable times. If Elisha had missed him, it meant that he would miss his blessings. Elisha stayed composed, focused, determined to go wherever his master went. His determination earned him a double portion of the grace that was upon his father. The zeal and determination in Elisha to inherit from his father was not only made up of hard work but also based on faith. The moment turns out to be a golden breakthrough!
2 Kings 2:11-12 (NIV) As they were walking along and talking together, suddenly a chariot of fire and horses of fire appeared and separated the two of them, and Elijah went up to heaven in a whirlwind. 12 Elisha saw this and cried out, “My father! My father! The chariots and horsemen of Israel!” And Elisha saw him no more.
I have likened a pastor to this bride. As a carrier of the presence of God and the shepherd to the flock, the pastor goes to the secret place of the Lord, collecting the best of visions and descriptions of where the Lord is taking the ministry. They connect to the destinies of those who are keen to listen and come out with food for the hungry in spirit, jobs for the righteous and hope for the nation. They come out with freedom for the young men on drugs and sexual bondage. They carry instructions for people seeking marriage. All these are forms of wedding bouquets that are available to the flock.
Those who come to receive the bouquet, are like those who believe, and are determined, and hopeful of a bright future. They come knowing that they might go away empty-handed if they do not position themselves to receive. The one who wants to catch that bunch of blessing, direction and destiny, must be focused, exercising their faith much like the same way the Elisha stayed put with Elijah.
When we enter the Lord’s house, we must understand that God has something for us. We must stir up our faith to receive the blessings that God has given for us. We reach out when we worship in spirit and truth. We reach out in faith when we give. We reach out in faith when we sit to hear the word. We reach out in faith when we share with someone what the Lord spoke through his servant. It is all a matter of faith.
If you see yourself as that bridesmaid going for the bouquet, then you will understand that the much you receive whenever you attend a fellowship or church service is truly dependent on your excitement and faith in Christ. It matters how much we leave the presence of the Lord with. Are you going to church today? Are you expectant? We are after all, the bride of Christ! We must leave with the wedding bouquet!
Yours Truly,
Pastor Mwaura Gicharu, Pastor at HSDPM