Well, congratulations to me. I have arrived. I am now at the age where anyone who hasn't seen me in a while - a while being anywhere from two years to two weeks- feels it necessary to ask if I have found anyone yet. "Are you dating? Met anyone? Interested in anyone? Anyone?" Friends and past roommates are getting engaged and married more and more now, and I'm enjoying looking at all the pictures on Facebook. While I am looking forward to when I get to speak about weddings in the present first-person, I find I can also be petrified at the idea of marriage. Weddings, sure no problem! We, as Americans, have the wedding down, and if you have any qualms about yours, just flip on the TV and you will find countless shows telling you how to make it grand. Sure, wonderful, but a wedding is a day. What comes after you blow however much money and then it's just the two of you? The day when it's you and whoever the lucky (?) person who promised to live with you....for the rest of your lives. Yikes! Yes, that would be marriage.
Now I'm single (which means I can live however I want!). Makes sense to learn all I can about marriage now so hopefully we don't screw it up. What makes a marriage work? But not just work, but flourish? I don't want to become the bane of someone's existence, especially when that "someone" considered it a joy to ask me to be his bride when we were in love. Marriage is important! God created it to be amazing and I definitely want mine to be amazing. Hard? and Work? Duh, you have to live with someone else day-in and day-out, and not just co-exist but get into each others lives, draw out the good to display and pull out the bad to get rid of, to stretch and encourage one another, and honor. It's all about honor. Marriage is powerful. Two people working as one; multiplied anointings, giftings, and talents. What is hers is yours now, right?
I was chatting with a guy my age the other day (I'll call him Jack), I didn't really know him but we had mutual acquaintances and I had heard of him before. Jack mentioned a girl (Sue) who I know and said they were dating, well, they had been dating but they were "taking a break." Jack rolled his eyes like it was all Sue's idea and he had no idea what that meant or why they were doing it. We chatted about some plans we had down the road in our respective lives and for Jack, this is what he has going..."Well, I'm seeing what is going to happen with Sue and me. I mean, we're either going to get hitched, or I'm going to move to Atlanta for this job." Um...excuse me? "Well, we might get hitched. Or not." ??? He said it so flippantly as if he "might" have Cheerios for breakfast. Or maybe he'll just have toast. Really?! Marriage is not just something to enter on a whim. That's how so many people get burned. It's a covenant. It's for real. And it's for life. Oh, but it's awesome. Again won't it be great when I get to say all this from first-hand experience. :)
Closing thought: Biblically, marriage is to be about honoring the other; it's an intimate place to practice laying down oneself for another. A great place to learn and gain experience in dying to self, right? Personally, I would love to get married. So, if a=b and b=c making a=c, does this mean I would love to die? Well, not particularly; it might hurt. But maybe that is what this prep time in my life is for: learn to die now so when we add in another component it won't be so much of a shock. Hmmm. So glad I have Help in all this.
Peace.
No comments:
Post a Comment