Daughter of the Bride

Most maid of Honor speeches start with how the MOH knows the bride. Well you see – when a man and a woman love each other very much…

But really – most of you can follow Mom and my antics on Instagram (follow me @bekahlarson) from regularly scheduled walks to Panera, to modern dance lessons, to lengthy birthday shout outs, you can tell this woman means the world to me.

However, it hasn’t always been all Mountain Dew and Power Sandwiches. As hard as it may be to imagine, I was a difficult child. All through my stages of punk/emo/goth to thug money corn rows, my mother taught me, not through words, but actions what it means to be a Proverbs 31 woman.

Proverbs 31:15 states: “She gets up while it is still night; she provides food for her family and portions for her female servants.” My brothers and I could not have gone hungry a day in our lives because every morning my mother was up before the sun making us breakfast. She’s the type of woman that won’t sleep if there is something that needs to be done. Case in point, I needed Mickey Mouse ears for a skit I was a part of in the eighth grade. Ladelle stayed up all night looking for those ears while I slept and threw out her back in the process, but didn’t cease until I had those ears in my hands. We could all learn a thing or two about tenacity from her.

Proverbs 31:20 goes on to say: “She opens her arms to the poor and extends her hands to the needy.” I see her exemplify this in the way she interacts with people that can be tiresome, overwhelming, and difficult to love – most of the time that person was me. Through these situations I have seen her exude patience, self-sacrifice, and unconditional love – things I would not have learned from a textbook but only from my mother leading by example.

Proverbs 31:26 is the one that makes me reflect most on my mother. “She speaks with wisdom, and faithful instruction is on her tongue.” If I had a dollar for every time I have come to Ladelle and told her I realized something she had told me years before to be true, I would be rich. Mom is the type of person who will hear you out and give you sound advice – whether it’s the answer you want to hear or not.

Her children arise and call her blessed; her husband also, and he praises her.

Not too long ago, Jim entered into mom’s life. I wish I could have captured the joy on moms face when she told me about their first failed date. Jim had planned on going to the Amway for a Magic game …. Which happened to be a game taking place out in California. Then he tried to walk in to a swanky restaurant he had heard about… that almost always requires a reservation in order to dine. In a last ditch effort he suggested they go see the Orchestra at Lake Eola… and walked up to the band shell being cleaned out. All of these events caused him to go with the flow and fly by the seat of his pants – traits that win a woman like my mother over despite what many may have called a “failed” date.

Over time Jim and Ladelle grew steadily closer – spending time actually attending Magic Games, going out on the Paddle Board, watching Micah play Lacrosse, and it was an endless seafood cooking class in Mom’s kitchen. Somewhere along the way they fell in love – and in true Ladelle fashion, when she decides on something, that’s what happens. And thus two months later, here we are.

Jim and Ladelle – I am honored to have a part in celebrating you two on your wedding day. I wish you love, laughter, and happily ever after. Congratulations to the bride and groom!