To Save a City (Divergent/Eric) 2 of 3 COH Series

Chapter 33 (Eric's POV)

(Pachebel's Canon in D)

I turn my head to the end of the aisle.  Jonah opens the double doors, stepping aside.  I gasp at what I see.
My heart clenches in joy at the sight of her—my bride.  Hosanna, my Hosanna, is standing there, as beautiful as ever.  But beautiful doesn't begin to describe how she looks.  She takes my breath away.  She's absolutely gorgeous.  Her gown is stunning—by far the most flattering and picturesque dress she's ever worn for me. The color makes sense now.  She's pure—perhaps not in body—but in heart, mind, and soul.  The color agrees with her so well, especially for today. 
Her hair is curled or braided loosely, I'm not really sure which but it's swept to the side and over her left shoulder.  It suits her and gives her a look of innocence.  She's wearing a veil, which I didn't expect.  Instead of muting her beauty, it's accentuating it.
Her brother and Max are walking her down the aisle but I barely notice them.  I see a massive bouquet of my mother's favorite flowers in her delicate hand.  I think of how much she would have liked my bride.  I feel as though she's somehow here with me; her spirit, as well as my father's, are watching over us. I haven't felt that for so long, but today—right now—I sense it.
I thought that my heart would be pounding wildly but I just can't wait for her to stand at my side.  I feel a strange calm at this moment, that this was meant to be, the greatest version of my life, everything that I've always hoped for.  It's all coming true today.
As they near me, time seems to slow down and I feel as though I'm dreaming.  This moment—the last two days, the last two months—somehow feels surreal.  I get the impression that I should wake up because this isn't my life, this was not the path I was to go down.  But it is real.  This is real, this moment, this lovely bride walking towards me is my reality now.  The girl I've loved forever is here with me.  She said yes.  Not just to the proposal, but to me, to a lifetime with me.  I smile at that thought.
They stop in place near the end of the aisle, Max lifting her beautiful veil from her face and tossing it behind her.  He kisses her cheek and she looks like she's trying her hardest not to cry.  She turns to her brother and he kisses her as well.  He whispers something to her and she nods smiling.  It's barely noticeable but I see it.  She and Four both look at me.  Four takes her hand and I walk down the steps to meet them.  This all feels so natural, like I didn't need to be instructed on what to do.  Four places her hand in mine.  He surveys me over before glancing at my eyes and smiles, stepping back to sit down. 
I look to my bride, those gorgeous dimples of hers so pronounced.  I help her step up and we climb to the stage together.  We arrive at the top of the steps and turn to face each other.  Mia takes the bouquet out of her grasp before she places her hands in mine.  I glimpse down at our joined fingers and stroke the one that will be wearing my mother's ring shortly.  I look back to her face and she smiles a knowing smile. 
Pastor Roberts begins to speak, but sadly, I can barely focus on the words he says. I can't stop admiring her beauty. I've always thought she was gorgeous, radiant even. But now, it's as if her skin is really glowing. Her scent is intoxicating. I have no idea what she's wearing but I'll have to buy her more. I continue to look her over when I notice she has a streak of blue in her hair. That's new. She didn't have that last night. I reach out to touch it. It's real and so lovely. I see her smile wider at me. The shade is my favorite color of blue and I can't believe she did that for me.
We continue to stare into each other's eyes. Hers are glistening, not with tears but ebullience—they're sparkling in the light. Her smile is one of a lightness in spirit which I haven't seen on her before. It's as if this moment brings her as much peace and fulfillment as it does for me.
I start to focus in on what Pastor Roberts is saying since I really ought to be listening closely.  I hear him say, "In Ephesians 5:25, Paul writes: 'Husbands, love your wives, as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her.'  I have no doubt in Dauntless that you both will do anything to protect one another and be brave in the face of danger.  There may be trials in your lives—battles that must be fought—but I believe you both will see them through, together through love and bravery."
He turns to Ryan.  "Do you have the rings?" Ryan places them on top of the opened book in his hands. 
Pastor Roberts picks up my father's ring.  He says, "This ring represents the promise of love, loyalty, and commitment between you both. It is a symbol of protection, authority, and belonging.  May those that see you with your rings recognize that you belong solely to one another.  The circle in itself, with no beginning or end, represents both infinite love and totality between you both.  The metal represents the unbreakable love that all may witness, as I have, that you have for each other.  In Mark 10:9, it says, 'Therefore what God has joined together, let no one separate.'"
He turns to Hosanna, smiles and hands her the ring.  I take a deep breath as I realize what this moment means. 
She repeats his words to me, "In the presence of God and before our family and friends, I, Hosanna Elizabeth Eaton, take you, Eric Michael Franklin, to be my husband.  All that I am I give to you, and all that I have I share with you.  I will be brave in the midst of fear, I pledge to protect you in danger, we will fight our battles together for the good of all.  Whatever the future holds, I will love you and stand by you, as long as we both shall live.  This is my solemn vow."
She slides the ring onto my finger.  Hosanna breathes deeply and sighs.  She smiles caressing my hand. 
Pastor Roberts hands me my mother's ring, Hosanna's ring now.  I repeat after him with all the love I have for this beautiful woman, my vows, "In the presence of God and before our family and friends, I, Eric Michael Franklin, take you, Hosanna Elizabeth Eaton, to be my wife.  All that I am I give to you, and all that I have I share with you.  I will be brave in the midst of fear, I pledge to protect you in danger, we will fight our battles together for the good of all.  Whatever the future holds, I will love you and stand by you, as long as we both shall live.
This is my solemn vow."
I slide the ring onto her finger one last time, where it will stay from now on.  This time my hands don't shake because I know her answer, I know exactly how she feels about me—the same as I do for her.  I'm oddly calm and content in this moment.  We pledged our lives to one another before her God and everyone else.  She is mine and I am hers for the rest of our lives. 
The pastor says to me, "Eric, you may kiss your bride."
I slide my fingers of my left hand through her hair just above her neck gently and step forward.  My right hand holds her cheek.  I kiss her with more passion than I ever have before.  My wife.  This is my wife—a thought I always hoped for, that I even prayed for when I didn't know who to pray to.  This has always been my one dream for my life, my only hope.  And now this is my reality. 
I gently pull back from her lips to see her eyes on mine.  Her smile is resplendent.  I can finally hear the shouts and cheers of the crowd—mostly Dauntless yelling and stomping.  I hear some reserved clapping, that must be the others.  I laugh in delight of this moment.
We both turn to face the crowd and I can't help the huge smile on my face because of the woman at my side, my wife.  "I have the great privilege of introducing for the first time ever, Mr. and Mrs. Eric Franklin," Roberts says.  My smile grows as the cheers of the crowd increase.  When they begin to quiet after a minute, Ellen and Neil start to play something quite lovely. We walk down the aisle together as husband and wife.  I grab my bride after a few steps and dip her, kissing her again since I just can't help myself.  The crowd laughs and cheers louder.  I hear a few whistles and someone shouts, "Go Eric!"
My bride and I laugh at that.  We stand upright and continue down the aisle to see April at the end with a camera, laughing and smiling.  She signals us to follow her.  We walk out on the balcony, just the three of us.  She hugs us both quickly and congratulates us before pulling us over towards the sunset.  I barely register that she's posing us since we are just staring into each other's eyes.  "I love you," I say to my bride leaning my forehead on hers. 
"I love you," she whispers back.
We turn to watch as the sun dips just below the horizon. April instructs us to turn around. Apparently she's been taking pictures of us the whole time. She takes one of us both looking at the camera and I'm glad she's here to capture this moment, the time in my life that I never want to forget. I can't help myself from kissing my bride again and I see a flash. We separate laughing at that. I look around on the balcony to observe lanterns surrounding us. I didn't even notice them earlier, but they're beautiful. Someone else must've cleaned them. April takes one more picture of our rings before ushering everyone in the wedding party out to photograph us all. I get one taken with just my sister and me. I definitely appreciate that one.
We finish up with the pictures, and make our entrance into our small—or what was supposed to be a small reception. The room is quite full of Dauntless and other factions' members. Everyone cheers as we enter the hall. The chairs have mostly been cleared out but there are a few tables and chairs set up around the edges of the room.
"What do you think?" I whisper in Hosanna's ear.
She turns to me. "It's amazing," she grins pulling me closer and kissing me. The crowd, of course, cheers again. "How did you pull this all off?"
"We have a lot of friends and family to thank for that," I tell her. She smiles.
"Let's go talk to them," she says.
We start with the special guests from other factions. We talk with Jeanine first. She congratulates us. I'm actually struggling to tell whether that was sincere or not. I do think she likes my bride but we never really got along. I think it's probably the ceremony that she didn't care for. She's always had such a distaste for anyone who believes in God.
After her, we meet with Jack Kang. He seems to be staring at Hosanna quite a bit. "Congratulations," he tells me shaking my hand. "You are a lucky man to have such an amazing bride."
"Thank you," I say.
He hugs my wife quickly, kissing her cheek. That was a bit awkward and uncalled for. If it was any longer than that, I probably would be getting upset. She looks uncomfortable as well and holds onto me firmly for the remainder of the conversation.
"What was that all about?" I mumble as I walk away holding her hand.
"I'll tell you later," she says breathlessly.
We see Johanna Reyes and greet her. She hugs Hosanna tightly. "I'm so happy for you both," she smiles. She whispers something to my wife and my bride nods in response. Johanna shakes my hand, not making me as uncomfortable as Jack did to Hosanna.
Next, we thank the Priors for coming. They both nod their congratulations to us. Natalie is much more reserved with Andrew in public than she normally is with us.
"I'm surprised you didn't have your father here, since there are so many people from other factions, including us," Andrew says to Hosanna.
"He's been banned from Dauntless," I inform him so my wife can avoid revealing something she doesn't want to.
"Banned?" Mr. Prior asks worriedly. "Why would he be banned?"
I look to Hosanna and she nods. "There was an incident on Visiting Day. He said and did some things that we here at Dauntless find offensive. I'd appreciate it if you didn't mention this ceremony to him either. It would be a shame if he returned before he's welcome," I say.
"Hosanna, dear? Didn't you want your father here, though?" Natalie asks softly.
"I told him that he couldn't visit me again until he's right with God," she explains. "He has sinned and he needs to repent before he can speak to me."
Natalie and Andrew both nod. "I'll keep him in my prayers," Mrs. Prior tells us solemnly.
"Thank you," Hosanna replies.
We turn around and of course Aaron has been eavesdropping again. I figure that if something bad is going to happen, we might as well have it happen now. I bring my new wife towards him.
"Aaron," Hosanna grins. "It's good of you to come." I'm surprised she's being so nice to him considering their previous interactions but I shouldn't be. She is kind and forgiving.
"I'm sure that you've heard it plenty, but congratulations. I'm happy for you both," he tells us.
"Thank you," Hosanna says. "That means so much to me that you would say that."
"I'm... sorry for my behavior before. What I said was stupid and cruel. There was no real reason for me to act that way. Could you ever forgive me?" Aaron asks.
Hosanna's face lights up and she hugs him. "Of course. Thank you so much for coming," she smiles.
He grins in return and nods. I just realized that he's dressed in his security clothes. He must have to report for duty soon.
"I have to go," he says sadly.
"Oh," she frowns.
"I could have your roommates save you some cake," I offer.
"Thanks. What kind is it?" he asks.
Hosanna turns to me giving me her full attention. "Lemon, blueberry, and white," I say.
"Blueberry," he grins. "That's my favorite."
I pat his back. "I guess you and my wife have a few things in common," I laugh.
"Thanks," he tells us before leaving.
"You got me blueberry wedding cake?" Hosanna questions excitedly.
"Do you want to see it?" I inquire.
"Yes," she says, her voice raising in intonation.
I pull her over to the table with the cake. "It's absolutely beautiful," she whispers. "You chose this?"
"Well, it started out as two layers but then Max invited your church so he doubled it," I explain.
I tell her which layer is which. She sets her bouquet down beside the cake and informs me that she's hungry. I lead her over to get some beverages and food since I'm starving as well. Everything is finger food which will make it easier to walk around and thank all of our guests for coming while we eat.
I don't know if Max had anything to do with the selection or if it was the cafeteria but the food looks amazing.  There is an array of small sandwiches, fruit and vegetable trays, meat trays, foods assembled on sticks, some wrapped in dough, little cups filled with food.  I'm struggling to decide what to eat.  There are some grilled meats and vegetables on sticks. I grab a few of those and so does my wife.
"What are you smiling at?" Hosanna asks me when she looks up and sees my expression.
"I was just thinking about how you're my wife," I say.
She sets her plate down and steps over to me. "That's a wonderful thought, isn't it?" she whispers before kissing me.  She looks at me for a moment smiling, before returning back to her plate.  We continue loading our plates full of food.  The meat skewers are delicious.  I might have to grab another one later.  Someone made lemonade, it's not as good as Hosanna's but I like it. 
We continue eating a little and talking to our guests.  Jax comes over and introduces us to his wife and three children.  I didn't even know he was married.  His wife is pretty for an older woman and his children are well behaved.  I'm not surprised knowing how much of a tight ship he runs with security.  His home is probably the same, but he seems like a good man, a good father.
I see Lizzy playing in the distance with Shauna's little brother.  "His name is Hector," Hosanna says reading my thoughts. 
I look to her in question.  "What?  You looked worried," she explains.  "She said he's in one of her classes and he's nice to her when the other kids pick on her."
"He probably has a crush..." I blurt.
"Maybe, but at least she's not tormented by everyone.  I know what that can be like.  It's nice to have a friend," she says lacing her fingers through mine.
"Yeah," I agree.
We talk to Wendy, her husband, and a few people on the office staff.  They're not as bad as I've thought.  Now that I think about it, she actually has the office much more organized as of late.  I'll be sad when she takes her maternity leave. 
"So, when are you due?" Hosanna asks putting her hands on Wendy's belly. 
"In about three weeks.  This baby can't come soon enough, though.  It's getting difficult to move lately and really hard to sleep at night," Wendy says.
"I'm sure.  Are you using the elevators?" Hosanna questions. 
"Yes, I'm actually worried about falling down the stairs.  I've never been so clumsy in my life.  I guess it's because my center of gravity has shifted," she tells us.  They talk a little more until Wendy gets a craving for one of the breaded foods and they excuse themselves.
We chat with Hosanna's friends from her church.  My sister comes up to join us for a while.  She apparently knows Ellen's mother.  She explains that Aunt Elaine used to work with my mom in the labs but my sister helps out after school in that same lab.  I wasn't aware of that. Lizzy says that she can even remember meeting Hosanna and her mother on Visiting Day, but she was about three or four at the time.  I have no idea how she can remember that but she said mom took a picture.  It must've been the last time Hosanna's family saw her mother. I really wish I would have gone with them to the lab that time. Hosanna and I could have met sooner.
I see Jeanine out of the corner of my eye and start to pale. 
"I've got it," Lizzy says.  
She runs over and distracts Jeanine, taking her eyes off of Hosanna and me hugging her aunt and uncle.  I'm glad she's distracted.  With my aunt, you never know who she'll threaten next. 
Once they're gone, Lizzy returns.  "I think I might just have gotten myself in trouble," she says wincing.
"What'd you do?" I ask worriedly.
"I asked what Aunt Jeanine thought of me in black.  Let me tell you, she was not happy.  I told her I was just kidding and that I'll never wear black again.  I'm not sure if she believed me..." she explains biting her lip.
"If anything ever happens, send us a message and we'll come and get you," I say.  "I don't care about the trouble it will cause.  If you need to escape, I'll be there for you."
She nods and hugs me before running off. 
A bit later, Jeanine comes over to me.  "I noticed that Marcus Eaton didn't attend," she points out.
"My bride didn't want him here," I tell her.  Neither did I. 
She nods.  "You weren't joking when you said she has no love for him," she responds surprised.  "So, tell me... how do you know William and Elaine Wright?"
"They go to Hosanna's church," I say.
My aunt purses her lips.  "I didn't realize your bride was such a... church goer," she states.
I shrug.  "She went there with her mother as a child but didn't go back until recently.  She wanted this kind of ceremony, I think, to honor her mother's memory, plus it makes her happy," I explain.  I don't want to reveal too much but just enough for her to back off.
"I remember her mother, Evelyn Johnson, or Eaton, rather.  She wasn't the smartest person in the world, though she thought she was.  Her daughter is nothing like her, quite intelligent," she tells me.  I nod. I hadn't realized she knew her.  I'm surprised that she doesn't say anything else about her church.  I don't want this to go on any longer than it has to so I keep my mouth shut.
"Well, I'm off.  There's a car waiting in the garage to take Elizabeth home when she's ready," she tells me.
"Thank you for attending," I say.
She nods.  It's as much of a goodbye as I'll get. 
I see Hosanna speaking with her closest group of friends.  I notice her friend Ava is here alone.  Now that I think about it, Tyler wasn't here today.  I find it odd that he didn't show up at all.  I know he doesn't work on the weekends, so I wonder what's going on there.  I won't mention anything though—not today. 
Hosanna and I are handed glasses of sparkling white wine. I see that trays of them are being passed out through the crowd. Ryan clangs his glass with a utensil and clears his throat.
"I'd like to make a toast, to the best friend I've ever had and his brave wife. I've never had anyone put up with my taunting as well as Eric. I probably shouldn't say this, but even during the last initiation, we all knew who he had eyes for. I constantly joked about getting to her first but he knew I was no competition to him. She clearly chose wisely. Hosanna is strong, brave, and by far the most skilled fighter I've ever gone against in single hand to hand combat. Eric is lucky to have her and she truly chose the best that Dauntless had to offer. To Hosanna and Eric," Ryan says raising his glass.
"To Hosanna and Eric," the crowd echoes. We all raise our glasses and drink together.
Mia joins Ryan and speaks, "Sadly, I haven't known Hosanna and Eric as long as I would like. But in the short time that I've known them both, I've never met anyone that I've thought was more perfect for each other than them. He's strong and intimidating. She can be as well, if you've ever seen her fight. I'm grateful I wasn't put up against her." There are a few laughs at that. "She also has a ridiculous number of fears, the least ever recorded," she says pausing.
"How many?" a few people shout.
"Three!" I say. There're a few gasps in the crowd before Mia continues.
"Like I said... intimidating. But yet, when you get to know them, they are both equally matched in loyalty and defense of those they hold dear, and when that's an entire faction, we all benefit from their great leadership. Their love for this faction can only be compared to the love they share with each other. They both are the greatest people I've ever known in my life and I wish them all of the happiness this life has to offer. To Hosanna and Eric," Mia says raising her glass.
"To Hosanna and Eric," everyone responds again before drinking.
After a few minutes, I see Wendy eyeing the cake and decide to give the pregnant woman a break. I walk over to my bride and ask her, "Shall we cut the cake?"
She smiles at me and nods her head. As we approach the cake together, Ryan and Mia join us nearby. I whisper to her, "Ryan has been joking a little much with me today. How about we get him back?"
She looks at me and laughs. "What did you have in mind?"
"Do you think he wants some cake?" I ask.
"You wouldn't?" she says understanding my intentions so well.
I shrug. Everyone notices that we're at the cake and the crowd starts to gather around. Oddly, Ryan and Mia slide in behind us. I can hear them whispering and Mia says something very quietly about pushing cake in our faces. I look to my bride and she bites her lip. She nods to me, she must've heard that as well or I know she wouldn't have agreed.
We grab the serving knife together and slice a piece of lemon cake. She places it onto a plate and we both grab a bite with our fingers. We bring the bites closer to each other's mouths and turn quickly as our friends make a move to destroy the moment, avoiding them shoving the cake into our faces. They both look surprised as we push the cake into their faces instead. Ryan laughs as I smash it into his face and rub my fingers into his hair and on his suit. Mia screams but she only gets a little wiped on her cheek. I guess they weren't expecting that. I pass Hosanna a napkin to wipe her hand. After they calm down and head to the bathrooms to clean up, we slice two more pieces, one blueberry, one lemon. I gently feed my sweet wife her cake with a fork as she does the same to me. Mine is pretty good. It's a white cake with a buttercream frosting. It has a lemon custard filling in the middle. We switch plates, step aside, and let the ladies from the bakery serve up the remainder.
"How is yours?" she asks me.
"It's really good," I say. "Probably one of the best I've ever had. How's the blueberry?"
"It's delicious. Would you like a bite?" she offers.
I open my mouth for the bite. Hers has the same white cake and frosting but it has fresh blueberries with some sort of whipped cream mixed into the middle. "Yours is better," I inform her. I give her a bite of mine.
"I like them both," she tells me. "The white cake and the frosting are really good, too."
"We're supposed to freeze the top and eat it next year... on our anniversary," I explain.
She smiles and kisses me, "Mmm, I can't wait."
We end up sharing the rest of our slices with each other. We socialize with our guests for a bit talking with the Pedrad family, Raven and her boyfriend, Dana and her date, Max, and Lydia and Hale. 
I notice Ryan lugging a box across the room and placing it on top of the piano in the corner.  I walk over to see what he's up to now.  "What's that?" I ask as he opens the box. 
"This is your wedding gift from me.  I would say from Mia too, but she's already put some things in your apartment that I'm sure you'll enjoy... more," he says clearing his throat at the last part.
"What is it?" I ask.
"I was going to let you open it later, but your sister said she wanted to play something for you tonight.  It's her present to you," he tells me.
I automatically know what it is.  I look to my sister waving at me from across the hall.  She comes over to join us as Ryan pulls the stereo system and speakers out of the box.  "I got several albums added to it already, so you're all set there and your sister's recording should work with this one, too."
"Thanks man, I know Hosanna will like this," I tell him.  I turn to my baby sister.  "Did you bring what I think you brought?"
She beams with the biggest smile and nods.  "Well, I assumed she was the one you told me about by the way you look at her, so I thought this seemed an appropriate gift," Lizzy explains.
"She is the one," I inform her.
"I knew it!" she says clapping her hands.
It is a perfect gift. I remember the first time I was practicing a dance to this song by myself. Lizzy walked into my room and saw me. She said she could tell I was thinking about someone, so I told her a little bit about Hosanna, but I didn't know her name at the time. I taught my sister a few basic steps.
My thoughts are interrupted by Ryan announcing that it's all set up and he asks Lizzy for her recording, my recording.

(Ed Sheeran- 'Thinking Out Loud')

The music begins to play and the crowd separates from the center of the room. I see my bride approaching the edge of the guests. I start to think about the lyrics of this song, how we can't grow old together in Dauntless, but I push that thought aside. I don't care about what anyone in this faction or the system thinks about me, about this dance. I'm going to dance with my bride to this song, the way I want to and I don't care what anyone thinks of me. She said she'd leave the fence with me... someday, and that's exactly what we'll do.
My bride meets me in the center of the dance floor. I slip my hand behind her back and the other in her hand and we dance to my favorite song, the way I want to, the way I always have to this song. I step and she follows. I've practiced this dance with her a bit, but never to this song. She responds to every step we take precisely like she's known it her whole life, like I have.
This moment is like a dream. I've thought of holding her, moving with her like this to this very song, practiced it even with my eyes closed, with my sister. But this moment is so different because it's real. She's here with me, smiling at me, touching me.
We slow down a little and I stop. Tilting her face to mine, I kiss her lips gently. As I pull away, I twirl her, push her back, and then pull her to me, starting to dance again. She chuckles—my favorite of her laughs. I'm not sure if it's from surprise or that she's enjoying herself so much but I don't care, I'll keep making her laugh like that over and over again.
We continue with some basic steps until the song reaches the chorus once more. I spin her quickly twice, and then pull her closely. I can hear her catching her breath as we dance slowly, bodies melting together to the dance moves. I can feel her heartbeat through our clothes and I almost can't wait to take my bride home. Our bodies mold together as we continue to sway.
I push her away and back starting over with the first steps but slower. The music begins to fade out and I dip her, bending over myself to kiss her collarbone. I can feel her shudder under my touch. I pull her back up to me, to standing, and she kisses me as the room explodes in applause and cheers.

*****Did you enjoy the wedding?  I loved this one!*****

Words of Wisdom:
"Therefore what God has joined together, let no one separate.""
‭‭Mark‬ ‭10:9‬ ‭NIV‬‬

"As a young man marries a young woman, so will your Builder marry you; as a bridegroom rejoices over his bride, so will your God rejoice over you."
‭‭Isaiah‬ ‭62:5‬ ‭NIV‬‬

"the sounds of joy and gladness, the voices of bride and bridegroom, and the voices of those who bring thank offerings to the house of the Lord, saying, "Give thanks to the Lord Almighty, for the Lord is good; his love endures forever." For I will restore the fortunes of the land as they were before,' says the Lord."
‭‭Jeremiah‬ ‭33:11‬ ‭NIV‬‬

I believe that the love, the closeness, the affection, the dreaminess, the desire to stay in that perfect moment forever, is exactly how we should feel about God.  I mean, He loves us so much that He would endure torture and death just for us to join Him in eternity if we believe in Him.  And He knew—He knew!  He was sweating blood in the garden before He was arrested because He was so distressed.  But yet, He did it anyway, allowed himself to be arrested and taunted and beaten and murdered and ridiculed, for the sake of us.  We're His bride, you and me.  That's true love—true sacrifice.  I choose to live this day for Him, my sacrifice.