This is the first part of a blog series on partnership. Keep reading…
There was one point in my life that I decided I wanted to
get married and now I’m just not sure any more.
Sometimes I think that I’ll be too consumed with – well – who’s
kidding? I want to get married.
It’s strange though because it just seems that all of my
friends are getting married off. This last
year while I was gone on the World Race I think I missed 15 weddings or
something ridiculous like that. In some
cases I didn’t just miss the weddings, I missed the engagements AND the
weddings! It boggled my mind when I came
home and I realized that various people had rings on their fingers that weren’t
on their fingers before. It thrusts you
into a moment of self-examination. Sometimes
it’s humbling and other times it’s humiliating.
It just depends on how you look at yourself I guess.
So I did go to a wedding this weekend. Surprisingly, even though I’m a guy, I love
going to weddings. Number one, I love to
watch the groom as the bride is walking down the aisle. His face is always timeless and while the
majority of the audience is checking out the bride, I’m watching joy grace
itself all over the groom. In fact, this
is typically the highlight of weddings for me.
But not this time.
This time I was totally and completely fascinated by the
bride. I couldn’t break my gaze and I
couldn’t free myself from just staring at her as she walked in. I’m not in love with the friend who got
married, don’t worry, but it was almost like the combination of everything
around the sanctuary made for the perfect moment of captivity.
The air was buzzing awaiting her arrival. The groom and his men were lined up staring
anxiously at the door and the bridesmaids, well, they were glowing because they
knew what was coming next. The pianist
started playing Clair de Lune, a peaceful song with a simple melody that
pierced through the air that was buzzing with eagerness. And then with everyone on their feet – she
walked in.
The bride glowed.
And I couldn’t stop looking at her. She moved with such grace, with such flow to
the world around her; she was captured in her much-awaited fairytale… and she
pulled me into it. I was so full of joy
at what was to come for her and her husband that I wanted to cry (don’t worry men
of the world – I didn’t).
I couldn’t get out of my head of what it could one day look
like when Christ Jesus is the one standing up there with God the Father and the
Church (us) is walking down that aisle bursting with such purity and such Life…
more than ready to be wedded to our Spouse.
We are, in fact, the bride.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
This is a picture from my friend’s wedding in ’07. They’re awesome.
