Hello friend, I hope you’re doing well. This is something I shared in a previous newsletter a while ago, but felt led to share again. Thank you for being here & happy reading!
Recently, I had the pleasure of watching a family member get married! It was a gorgeous garden wedding—the officiant spoke beautiful and true words, the bridal party looked dashing, and the weather wasn’t as hot as I’d thought it’d be (still too hot though haha). The bride was radiant, her smile as she saw her groom even more so. Halfway during the ceremony, I began to feel very emotional—I’d love to just blame it on the fact that I’m a very emotional person, but it was more than that. In that moment, the officiant had told the couple to hold hands and to look one another in the eyes. Not saying a word but just taking each other in.
When they looked away after a moment, he told them, “keep looking, I want you to really take this moment in.” He wanted them to remember this, so they could look back on it in the future. For richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health.
When I heard him say that to them, it convicted me. The Lord—the bridegroom to His bride, the church (my brethren in Christ & myself)—also had this moment with us. One we tend to forget when turbulent waters threaten to engulf us in their chaos. Or when our minds are jam-packed with a million unnecessary tasks and thoughts. Or when we stumble back into sinful habits (and the guilt that comes with it).
The moment that became the pillar to our marriage:
The work on the cross.
When the Bridegroom took on our burdens and vowed Himself to His bride. This is what we need to remember when the enemy is hard at work to separate us. In the Holy Book it says, “Therefore what God has joined together, let no one separate.” Matthew 19:6 Let no one—no thing, no struggle, no hardship—separate. This is commitment. This is covenant. And you know what? This is the only marriage covenant where the groom is 100% Holy, good, and all-knowing. We as the bride are flawed, deeply, but the Groom’s holiness will cover us. Because when two marry, they become one. So this life on earth, it’s not easy, there’s so much trying to tear us away from our Groom, but if we keep the pivotal moment of the cross in our hearts and minds, our marriage will flourish.
I hope you are encouraged today, Friend. May your weekend be filled with peace, rest, and the presence of the Lord.
—Tania, the storyteller