This past weekend, I attended my first African wedding here in Rwanda. Not only did my team and I attend, we wore traditional Rwandan dresses. (So awesome I know!)The wedding consists of four parts. First, there is an introduction, then the church ceremony, then the reception, and finally the releasing of the cows. So, we only attended the first three sections of the wedding. However, during the introduction we witnessed a man dressed in African clothing (ie. a skirt and sash around the shoulder) come out and very loud sing and chant. The whole time he was speaking in Kinyarwandan, the local language. None of us knew what was going on. After the first five minutes or so, the man next to me leaned over and said, “Do you know what they are saying?” I said, “no” and after chuckling he explained to me what was taking place. The man was part of the introduction ceremony and he was naming the cows that were to be given to the father of the bride later that evening. Talk about culture shock! A major part of this wedding revolved around cattle.
Just the day before, the pastor we are staying with was complimenting me and he said, “the man that you marry should give your dad at least eight cows!” Then, the next words out of his mouth were, “Do they do that in America?” I laughed for a bit then and numerous times after because I thought it was so foreign to even think in that way. As I was talking to someone else about it at the wedding. They said that if you don’t have cows of your own you must buy them to give. A price must be paid.
Then, I began thinking about how we are the bride of Christ. We are not His bride because He just chose us. He paid a great price for us. He gave His life for us. No amount of cows can equate to that. So, as I consider His sacrifice for me. I feel so honored to be His bride. Knowing that the dowry has already been given. All I have to do is love Him back.
