In the Sight of God and These Witnesses
Right in the middle of church yesterday, the pastor said “Please be seated. We are having a wedding now. And, up came a lovely bride, handsome groom, their two attendants, and on the front row behind the couple were their children. The pastor said “They were married seven years ago, but today they want to be married in the church in God’s sight and all these witnesses.” I suspect they felt married all those seven years, but along the way, they realized they wanted their family and their lives covered by the full blessings of God – no holds barred. Two young people, years before, threw caution to the wind and got married in a “quickie” ceremony because they desperately loved each other and that’s all that mattered at the time.
This day they were making a covenant with God and each other for a lifelong, faithful relationship together. The marriage covenant is a mystery of drawing down the presence of God, of engaging His help and power in our lives. Dr. Scott Hahn says it this way: “We are sitting on a stockpile of spiritual power that we have barely begun to tap. Do not be stingy with God’s blessings. Do not withhold invoking God’s name over your loved ones. Every time you invoke the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit, you are tapping into the great oaths that God swore when He fashioned the world; but even more, you are tapping the greater power of Jesus Christ, Who has sworn a new covenant oath, having taken upon Himself the curse for our sin.” We pray that sacred ceremony gives them “sticking” power for many years of wedded bliss.
While their short eight-minute ceremony was going on, I reminisced about a covenant made before God, this day, July 8th, 1966. That covenant was made by my sweetheart and me as we were united in the sacrament of holy matrimony. It was a special, picture-perfect day when my sweet man and I became husband and wife. I don’t believe in superstition — you know – the groom not seeing the bride during the day of the wedding, or the throwing of the bouquet ensuring the catcher will be the next to get married, or rice being thrown at the couple that means they’ll have prosperity and fertility, though we stuck to those traditions. But I do believe those sacred vows we made and the covenant we made before God, gave us “sticking power”, when, many times, we could have cut bait and exited the drama, and the shaky times when another day with each other seemed almost too much to handle. What was it that caused “until death do us part” to be the deciding factor that created an inseparable, unwavering and unrelenting love that knew no end?
As young as we were (18 & 17), we knew what a covenant before God was and when we vowed before God: “For better or worse” (and, believe you me….we had some “worst of times”) and “For richer or poorer” (Lord have mercy — we had some mighty poor seasons) and “In sickness and health” (we both knew “sickness”) and “Until death do us part”. Those were our promises to each other and our vows before God…..and they stuck in the good and the bad times. I am saying…..tough times don’t last…but tough people who give God first place in the mix of literally everything that concerns them…..is what sustains, equips, and remains forever true.
I’m sending kisses heavenward today because I know that’s where my Sweetheart is cheering me on to my finish line. What was it that mattered most while he was still on this side of heaven with me? What is it that matters most today? The ONE common denominator — God, Who blessed us with 44 years of marriage on earth, and through all my years on this side of heaven, is still the ONE who blesses me today. He is the ONE who continues to wake me up each morning with joy in my soul and a song in my heart. That “triangle” covenant: God, Ron and me – had sticking power. It was a signed, sealed and delivered covenant! Spending FOREVER with God AND my Sweetheart will be awesome, and FOREVER is a long, long time.