The Wedding

My husband and I had the honor of witnessing the marriage of two remarkable young people.

A young man that we've admired and whose family we've been close to. A young woman, who by the groom's own declaration, is his personal gift from God.

These two young people met at the right time in their life. They both had chosen to wait for God's perfect plan.

When the bride entered the church, she stood at the back with her father in the archway. The sun highlighted her beautifully. We listened to the soloist as the bride and groom waited to be joined. The groom was wiping away tears as he watched his future wife prepare to meet him. When their eyes met and they smiled at each other, it was as though there was no one else but the two of them to share this moment.

Their vows to each other were truthful and heartfelt. It reminded me of the fact that no one (I dare say) enters into marriage with the plans of not keeping their promises.

I am confident that this young couple will stay true to each other. And love each other until 'death-do-us-part'.

But marriage is not easy. Ask anyone who is married. Or, simply look at the evidence of shattered dreams and lost hopes and broken homes around you. The truth is that sometimes couples can't work it out.

I was recently reading one of my favorite fiction novels...The Wedding by Nicholas Sparks. It is about a man who is about to celebrate his 30th wedding anniversary and comes to the realization that his marriage has somewhat become non-existent. He decides to try and win back his wife. In so doing, he discovers a key:

"Though I'd been the same man I'd been for the past year - a man deeply in love with his wife and trying his best to keep her - I'd made one small but significant adjustment. This week, I hadn't been focusing on my problems and doing my best to correct them. This week, I'd been thinking of her; I'd committed myself to helping her with her family responsibilities, I'd listened with interest whenever she spoke, and everything we discussed seemed new. I'd laughed at her jokes and held her as she'd cried, apologized for my faults, and showed her the affection she both needed and deserved. In other words, I'd been the man she'd always wanted, the man I once had been, and - like an old habit rediscovered - I now understood that it was all I ever needed to do for us to begin enjoying each other's company again."

Our focus cannot be on ourselves. If we want to live 'happily-ever-after' we must want to 'meet our spouse's needs'.

We need to expand and challenge our thinking so that we can stop only-thinking-of-ourselves and learn to focus on our one-and-only.

Let Your unfailing love surround us,
Lord, for our hope is in You alone.
Psalm 33:22