A Forever Covenant...

Twenty four years ago the day was very much like today. It was one of the most beautiful spring days I have ever seen. The sky was a perfect blue and the sunshine literally sparkled off all the color. I remember that the dogwood blooms were spectacular that year. We used them to decorate our reception area. I woke up early that day because there was so much to do before 3:00. So much preparation. So much anticipation.


I don't remember a lot of the details of that day. They are beginning to fade away. I don't remember the things that went wrong or the things that made me anxious. I don't remember the details of how we got to the church or all that happened before the ceremony. I don't even remember all the details of the reception anymore. But I remember knowing that when I left that church, I would be Mrs. Joseph Daniel Spinks, Jr. I remember being so sure of that decision. I remember knowing with everything that I was that it was right. Safe. Blessed. Forever.


We have been talking a lot about weddings around here. About marriages. About blessings. About forever. Marriage is not to be entered into lightly. It is not a contract. It is a covenant. A covenant with God and your spouse. The two shall become one. Not because of the physical only but because of the spiritual. The cleaving. The connecting. The dying to self. Two cannot become one without a little give and take.


It is amazing to me how many people enter into marriage lightly. With more thought and preparation for the party than for the partnership. With so much money spent on the event without any thought of how to spend their money together. With more emphasis on how to get their way than thinking about how to put two families together. With more anticipation for the honeymoon than anticipating how you will keep the honeymoon from ending in the relationship. Marriage should not be entered into lightly. It should be entered into for a lifetime.


We talk to our girls a lot about marriage. About our marriage. About how we do things and how we make decisions. We talk about the intimacy of marriage. We talk about the hard parts. We talk about what to look for in a spouse. We talk a lot about the fact that marriage is a picture of Christ and the church. About how we have prayed since they were born for their future spouse. For their future marriage. 


We cannot make relationship decisions for our children. Although arranged marriages are not such a foreign concept to parents of all girls. They make their own decisions and their own mistakes in the end. But we can pour a solid foundation for them. We can tell them what is best. We can show them what it looks like. We can point them in the right direction and we can pray boldly for their futures.


Even if your marriage is not on solid ground or did not make it to forever, we can set up the next generation for success. We can still share God's truths concerning marriage. We can make sure that we tell them. Out loud and often. Give them the tools. Cover them with our prayers. Love them enough to guide their decisions. And when they stand before us one day in their own covenant and hear the words that marriage is not to be entered into lightly, my prayer is that they think to themselves: "Yes, we know. Our parents made that very clear!"


By the Grace of God, the last twenty four years have been a true blessing. Thank you sweetheart for being in covenant with me. And for believing that it is forever.

Love bears all things, 

believes all things, 

hopes all things, 

endures all things. 

Love never ends. 

1 Corinthians 13:7-8