So I’ve been contemplating blogging for a while now. I start
to think, yea I want to do it, and then I never get around to it, needless to
say, it’s been put on the back burner for quite some time. Today felt like a
good day, but where to start…? I am a family girl, always have been, always
will be, so the beginning feels like a good place for me
On March 20th 2010 I married the most amazingly
wonderful man. He truly was an answer to any prayer I’d ever said! During our
marriage counseling, the pastor said she was going to write our ceremony based
off of us as a couple, she didn’t have a set script she reads, and it would be
fully centered on us. About a week before our ceremony, she emailed us word for
word what she would say. How cool is that: years later I can reflect back on
the exact words I stood before God and an entire congregation of family and
friends and married my husband to. Here
are some of her words:
“We are together in this sweet
and sacred hour to witness the uniting of Travis and Samantha in the enduring
bonds of Christian marriage. This
happiest and holiest of human relationships was first celebrated in the quiet
gardens of Eden. God saw that it was not
good for man to live alone, and so He created woman and gave her to him to be
his companion, his wife. The Lord said:
“Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife,
and they shall become one flesh.”
This first description of
marriage gives us three words for the establishing of a home. The first is leaving. “Therefore a man shall leave his father and
mother.” When a man and a woman
establish a new home, there is a sense in which they leave their old ones. They don’t leave in terms of love and
communication, but rather in terms of authority and priority. The most important human relationship for
you now is the one you are establishing today, in this place and before
these witnesses. The primary
relationship in your life shifts from the parental to the spousal, from mother
and father to husband and wife.
The second idea in Genesis 2:24
is cleaving. “Therefore a man shall
leave his father and mother and be joined, be united, shall cleave, to his
wife. The word “cleave” means to stick
like glue, to be devoted, committed to each other. Every marriage goes through difficult periods
and challenging times. It is easy for
love to grow lukewarm, then cold.
Disillusionment can descend on a home.
That’s why you have to remember that divorce is never an option, that
the vows you are taking before God are holy, binding, and permanent. You are today deciding to stick to one
another, through thick and thin, through good and bad. We do not know what the years ahead will
bring, nor how life and labor will unfold before you. But whatever the passing seasons hold, you
must always remember to keep your poise, guard your purity, find your place,
and fulfill your purpose. As it is
written in the book of Philippians, “Do all things without complaining and
disputing, that you may become blameless and harmless, children of God without
fault in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation, among whom you shine
as lights in the world.”
That leads to a third concept in
Genesis 2:24: Weaving. The verse goes on
to say that the man and the woman, who leave their parents, cleave to one
another and become as one. They should
weave their lives together. Marriage
requires developing common interests, common hobbies, good communication, time
together, frequent dating, and growing love.
A wedding takes only a few minutes to perform, but a marriage takes a
lifetime to perfect. In your
marriage “…walk worthy of the calling with which you were called, with all
lowliness and gentleness, with longsuffering, bearing with one another in love,
endeavoring to keep unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.” And in your marriage “…Let each of you speak
truth,” for we are members of one another.
“Do not let the sun go down on your wrath, nor give place to the
enemy.” In your marriage, “Let all
bitterness, wrath, anger, clamor, and evil speaking be put away from you, with
all malice. And be kind to one another,
tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God in Christ forgave you.””
I know I know, you’re probably thinking “wow that was long”,
but when I tried to pick apart pieces, I couldn’t. It all made perfect sense,
and I think as a couple, that is who Travis and I are, and that is how we try
and build our marriage and our family!
So now that you know where we’ve come from, fast forward to
present day…. (next blog coming soon)
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