Here comes the bride...

It's wonderful to be back. I know it's been a while since I've posted anything. I had the privilege of traveling with dear friends for ten days to Florida for my son's wedding. Along the way, to and from Florida, we took several days to relax and vacation, and spend some well-deserved time off.

I've had a wedding every summer/fall for the last three years. I'm not-so-slowly watching my children get married one by one. And even though I joke about it, it leaves me with very mixed emotions.

Marriage is not an easy task. Yes, I said TASK. The definition of task is "a piece of work to be done." Marriage is work... lots of it! And if you don't put in the work, you fail. Just ask the 41% of Americans who get divorced every year. That stat has actually gone down in recent years... not because fewer people are getting divorced, but because fewer people are getting married.

I'm one of those 41% and my children have not always had the best examples to follow. You can love your children more than life itself, but that does not automatically make you good at marriage. In fact, sometimes that blinds you to the obvious. I wouldn't be the first wife that stayed in an unhealthy relationship for the sake of her children.

I am so blessed that all of my children have partners that are loving, caring people. Spouses and fiancé's that have the same values that my children were raised with. This world is not the same world I grew up in or my children grew up in, and my grandchildren will need a strong moral compass to guide them through life.

Our culture as made marriage easy and momentary. Almost like unsubscribing from an online link you accidently clicked on. "Sorry, I didn't really want you!"

Marriage is the most sacred promise you can make to someone. Don't believe me? Open a bible. Not only are there very specific instructions, but God cherished the institution of marriage so much that He used it as the perfect example of His relationship with the church. The Bible references Christ as the bridegroom over 100 times!

Once we grasp the entirety of that sacred promise, it's reflection on our personal relationship with Him is mind-blowing!

Aren't connecting the dots? I'm not going to say "it's easy," because it's not. In a relationship, once we say. "I do" it's not just a 'relationship' anymore... it's a marriage. That sacred promise. A promise that says - I'm not just trusting you with the little things anymore, I'm trusting you with EVERYTHING. I'm trusting you with my family, my children, my health, my life. Both partners saying - I'm giving you everything, 100%, even if I get nothing in return. Imagine what our world would be like if everyone made that kind of commitment! There would be no divorce rate!

The same holds true in our relationship with God. How many times have we made a "promise" to follow Him but then said - I'll trust You to take care of that part of my life, but I'm still going to be in charge of this part of my life? That's not a commitment or trust! That's casual dating at best... not even close to a healthy marriage! A relationship - true commitment - is based on trust. And if I can't trust God in the little things, how am I ever going to trust Him with the big ones?

Just like in a marriage, if you don't talk and communicate about the daily happenings with your partner, how likely are you to share your most hidden, intimate thoughts. Probably not at all. And those hidden thoughts are the ones that get us in trouble. They are the ones that need to come to the light. And although they are hard to talk about, they are the ones that bring us closer together... bond us as couples. They hold us together when times get tough and no one else understands. It's the trust in our relationships.

It's the same concept with God. The more we give to Him, the stronger our relationship becomes. I think of it as weights in a backpack. My burdens are the weights. If I give my burdens to God daily, the backpack stays light. And as I've learned to give Him more of those hidden thoughts and secrets, the lighter that pack has gotten. But the more I try to do myself, the heavier the pack gets. If the pack is already heavy and I get hit with a crisis, I'm in trouble! But if my commitment with God is strong and my pack is light, that crisis is easier to bear.

Right about now, there's a handful of successfully married people reading this and thinking - it works the same way in a marriage. Correct! You just connected the dots!

Revelation 19:6-9 ESV

Then I heard what seemed to be the voice of a great multitude, like the roar of many waters and like the sound of mighty peals of thunder, crying out, “Hallelujah! For the Lord our God the Almighty reigns. Let us rejoice and exult and give Him the glory, for the marriage of the Lamb has come, and His Bride has made herself ready; it was granted her to clothe herself with fine linen, bright and pure”— for the fine linen is the righteous deeds of the saints. And the angel said to me, “Write this: Blessed are those who are invited to the marriage supper of the Lamb.” And he said to me, “These are the true words of God.”