~**~

"...for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health, in blizzard or not, to love and to cherish, till death do us part, according to God's holy ordinance; and thereto I pledge thee my faith." Traditional wedding vows, revised.

It was one of the worst blizzards on record in Buffalo, New York, January 28, 1977. I watched the horrors unfold on the evening news from my home in Titusville, Florida. People died in their cars, buried alive on the major thruways, or on foot trying to get help. Snow drifts covered two story homes... completely.

"Who would ever want to live there?" I asked my husband.

That question came back to haunt me a few months later.

I met Duane and Shawna Cullen at a church picnic in Amherst, New York in June of 1977, a group of church members welcoming my husband and me to the pastoral staff.

The friendly couple introduced themselves and shared they had only been married a few months. I gasped at the day... the day before the blizzard hit in full force. At first, I thought they were kidding. They weren't.

This was the story relayed to me on that sunny day in June.

Shawna graduated from high school in 1976, and went to work full-time at her family's ethnic bakery. She had always dreamt of making her own wedding cake, and marrying her high-school sweetheart.

The wedding day was well thought out, and had been moved from June to January to accommodate Duane's Army Reserve schedule. Everyone was onboard for a January wedding in the church's prayer chapel.

On Thursday, January 27th, Shawna went into work early in nearby Tonawanda to start on the cake, keeping her ear tuned to the radio.

The sky continued to blacken, and the wind whipped the customers hurrying in and out for last minute baked goods. The weather update announced the closing of the Buffalo International Airport, just as the shop lost power and was forced to close before noon. The bride-to-be threw out the half-baked cake and went home, despairing.

Everyone agreed that a Saturday morning wedding was out of the question. The news wire reported that all of western New York, including Niagara Falls, and southern Ontario, would witness a blizzard like no other.

Duane, on the other hand, was the optimist. He finished up early at the garage where he worked, heading back to his apartment with a new plan: an afternoon wedding. They would need to move quickly as the storm was mounting by the minute.

He bathed and dressed in military fashion, and was out the door in ten minutes. He arrived at Shawna's house and made his case. More than anything, he didn't want to wait another minute to marry her.

He called the senior pastor and caught him just as he was headed out.

"Please... we want to do this now," stated the reservist.

"My suit is hanging up ready for Saturday," exclaimed the pastor. "Come as quick as you can!"

The couple plowed through the snow with their windshield wipers on high. Shawna's parents were in a truck behind them, traveling at a crawl. Accumulated snow blanketed the roadways and traffic lights were blown apart. Vehicles were stalled and stranded. The groom stopped to help some travelers, which delayed them an hour.

Duane started praying aloud, asking God for a window of opportunity. "Lord, all we need is a few minutes to be married."

They turned off Niagara Falls Boulevard and into the treed neighborhood where the church was located. The wind had subsided a bit, enough to get everyone safely inside the chapel.

The ceremony was set in a snow globe... magical and sweet. There was no cake, no flowers, no guests, and no power. They were in the company of each other for the candlelight ceremony.

And--it was just in time. Buffalo was already shutting down; and by noon on Friday, most travelers had left the roadways. The city was paralyzed.

I saw a few pictures of the happy couple playing out in the snow a few days after the great blizzard. I asked about something protruding at their feet.

"Oh, that's the rooftop," replied Shawna. "We climbed out the attic window and onto the roof for those shots."

{And this is real love... one where the ornaments and trappings had been stripped away to reveal hearts so true.}

How many would have done the same? Precious few, I think. How blessed they were to find this devotion early on.