Posted by
Virginia Daddy on Tuesday, November 13, 2007 5:41:14 PM
This past weekend, my son was a ring bearer (his picture above-- had to post it) in a good friend's wedding. The wedding was wonderful, beautiful bride, handsome groom, good message, and one cute kid. It had everything weddings should have, even one (small) hitch. It was a great day.
Besides the cute kid coming down that aisle with another cute one (but not quite as cute, of course) before the little girls and the Bride walking with dad, it was an emotional experience. OK, so I am a bit teary eyed as it is, but something about this wedding was special. Not only was our little boy the "star," but this was the first wedding my wife and I have spent together at a wedding since ours. In each subsequent wedding one of us was in the wedding party, so it didn't happen.
It was neat, to spend that moment with her, and James. To listen to another young couple give their lives to each other in front of everyone, and in front of God, is always inspiring. The message can never be told enough-- the importance of loving fully, the sacrficies needed, the time needed, and the power of God in such a relationship. And I barely fought back the tears as I look to my relationship. I think I do a good job, not perfect, but good. My wife does, as well.
And me being me, I thought about how lucky we are. There are far too many who do not try to keep those words at the altar; and also far too many families broken apart and damaged by selfish desires and actions. This is not to say there are not valid times for divorce, as there are. But it needs to be a last, and I mean last, resort.
There are demands on this world, and ideas in this world, and temptations in this world that can all destroy the strong love two share. Men are called to be this, and women that, and the two don't always go together. Kids come in and are to be something completely different. They've got work demands, family demands, demands from the kids, and somehow the spouse only demands, or ignores.
I've heard it described as chasing your spouse. Marriage begins as a chase, yes? Its a bit of a game, and its fun! Its wonderful, but the game all to often ends after marriage; the excitement disappears. Its too easy to let the demands of every other aspect of life take the place of the game. Married couples need to keep the chase alive-- keep on gaming. Make it fun. And make the time to make it fun. This is one area where you can't sacrifice, and it doesn't always take a lot of time.
Our society depends on that little bit of time. Opponents have already begun to use the shaky state of marriage as an excuse to push their agenda. And why wouldn't they? Its all the same if its all broken, they say. But its not the same, and we need to stop giving them excuses.