The two families stayed in touch over the years.
Last October, Jeni became engaged. As they began planning their wedding, Jeni wondered who would walk her down the aisle. At her fiancé’s suggestion, Jeni asked Arthur if he would walk her down the aisle at her wedding. “It would be so incredible,” Jeni said, “to have a physical piece of my father there.” Arthur said yes – but warned Jeni that his emotions might get the better of him. That’s OK, Jeni assured him, “I’ll be right there with you.”
The wedding took place this August in the family’s parish church in Swissvale, Pennsylvania. Arthur suggested that she grip his wrist, where his pulse is the strongest. “I thought that would be the best way for her to feel close to her dad. That’s her father’s heart beating.”
At the church, the bride was photographed touching Arthur’s chest before taking her fiancé’s hand.
A simple act of compassion and gratitude makes a family’s celebration complete. Lord knows, both families have had more than enough hurt and tragedy in their lives, yet both families also possess an attitude of thankfulness: that Michael’s heart was able to give life to another, that Arthur’s broken body was able to accept it. Jeni and Paul’s wedding becomes a moment to celebrate their many reasons for gratitude. Gratitude is a practice — a way of approaching life — that is grounded in the awareness that God has breathed His life into us for no other reason than love so deep we cannot begin to fathom it, and that the only fitting response we can make to such unexplainable and unmerited love is to stand before God in quiet, humble gratitude. Like the Samaritan leper who gives thanks for the miracle that has taken place in his life, we can be transformed by such joyful gratitude for God’s loving presence in every moment of our lives.
-Deacon Jay