Life Lessons from the Dying

The cameraman asked if I thought the couple would mind if he videotaped the wedding. I wasn’t sure how they would feel about this, but I said I would seek their permission. I climbed into the ambulance and said, “Neither of you are fugitives from the law, are you? This man is from a TV news program and would like to tape your wedding.”

They were ecstatic and quickly gave their permission. As I was telling the cameraman that it was okay to tape the wedding, the reporter himself, one of the best known in the city, walked up and asked what was going on. I again explained what we were doing and told him that we were just waiting for the clerk to return with the license so we could begin the wedding. He asked if the couple would mind him covering the wedding and having it aired on the evening news. I was totally shocked. Once again I received their permission. The crowd was growing bigger, and so was my amazement at what God was doing.

The reporter told me he had to go into the courthouse for just a minute and asked that we not start until he returned. I requested that he hurry because of the patient’s condition. I wasn’t sure what effect all the excitement might be having on him. Flashing through my mind was a very ugly picture of him dying just before the wedding—or even worse taking his last breath on camera in the middle of the ceremony. At this point, with so much hanging in the balance, I considered that I might be the one to fall over with a heart attack before this was over.

The clerk soon returned with the license, and the reporter was close behind. Before we began the ceremony, the reporter told me that the wedding was the buzz throughout the entire courthouse. When I turned to look at the courthouse, people were lined up at all the windows for several floors, watching what was taking place. In addition, the crowd outside had continued to grow. It had become a very festive occasion.