Today
I want to share a selection having to do with marriage -- though I
must stress it's a helpful thought to consider whether one is
married or not! I do not know the title or publisher of the book
I originally took it from years ago, though I did write down the author's name
- Theodore Parker.I have used this quote numerous times at weddings and people have expressed their appreciation for it, and most all their complete agreement with it -- especially those who have been married for any length of time! It is, in my humble opinion, worthy of your focused, thoughtful, and discerning consideration, since it contains much truth and wisdom. Enjoy.
“It
takes years to marry two hearts completely, even of the most loving and tender
type. Every happy marriage is a
long falling in love. Young people think love
belongs only to the silken-haired and crimson-cheeked. And it does in its beginnings.
But the
golden marriage is a part of love about which the Bridal day knows nothing. A mature and complete
marriage, where wedlock is everything one could desire, where the ideal becomes
actual, is not a common thing. It is perhaps as rare as perfect personal
beauty.
Men and
women are married fractionally — a small fraction here,
followed by a larger fraction there. Very few are ever married
totally, and those that are, only achieve it after some forty or fifty years of
gradual growth, adjustment, perseverance
and experimentation.
When a
man and woman are successfully in love, their whole activity is energized and victorious. They walk better, their
metabolism improves, they think more clearly, their secret worries drop
away, the world is fresh and
interesting, and they can do more than they ever dreamed of doing.
In love
of this kind, sexual intimacy in not the dead end of desire, as it is in purely
romantic or promiscuous love. It is the periodic
affirmation of inward delight in each other, and the crown of an active,
intentional and well-lived life. Knit together by the
bonds of friendship and mutual affection, their love is as interesting as
it is enduring — able to withstand the
winds of adversity and change, bear hardships, build upon the
mistakes of the past, and use them as opportunities for forgiveness
and growth.”
In
a society which sees less and less reason for marriage (4 out of 10
thirty-and-under-people now see no need for it at all), this "thought" gives
us a better insight into the blessings of marriage, how one should view it, and
what it might take to improve it.
The
health of the family unit is key to the preservation of any civil society, and
the health of marriages is key to the health of that family unit. We
must, therefore -- especially in a society like ours which is
decidedly not "marriage-friendly" -- always
be praying for those who have entered into this, "bond and
covenant of marriage (which) was established by God in creation." This relationship of
committed love received Jesus' stamp of approval by, "His presence and first miracle at a
wedding in Cana of Galilee." After all, it's a way
of life which, "signifies to us the mystery of the union between
Christ and His Church, and Holy Scripture commends it to be honored among
all people"
(from The Celebration of Marriage, Book of Common Prayer).
May you
be encouraged to persevere in this God-ordained relationship, and partake of
the blessings God intended through it, Pastor Jeff
