We attended a precious wedding ceremony and reception for our neighbors yesterday where not only did we get to eat DONUTS in lieu of cake, we also learned the bride and groom’s parents were both celebrating 37 years of marriage. Praise! Deep praise, Lord.
My heart was happy as I heard the news, knowing full well the reality that the longevity of marriages today just isn’t what it used to be. When newlyweds’ parents are still together the new couple has a much better chance of staying married, than those who come from a family that has experienced divorce. It’s not something we like to think of, especially on a wedding day, but it’s the truth.
Growing up seeing two people continually love each other and do good for each other on the daily, you can’t help but want to do the same in your own marriage. What an example of Christ’s love for us and how we ought to love, right?
During the reception the DJ came to the tables to take song requests, I requested the same song we’ve requested at every wedding we’ve attended for the past 12 years, “Time in a Bottle” by Jim Croce.
You guys, when it came time for us to pick our first dance song for our wedding reception, we didn’t have a clue what song represented “us”. We liked “She Will Be Loved” by Maroon 5, but honestly, that was not our song. The summer we met that song was on the radio every 18 minutes and we just liked that it sang about a beauty queen of only 18, because *I* was 18 at the time. Ha! Teenagers in love are SO weird sometimes.
I knew I wanted our marriage to be as strong as my parents’ so we chose Time in a Bottle, which was THEIR song.
I guess I thought that the song we picked would tell our story, but in hindsight, I’ve learned over the course of our 15-year relationship that no matter what song we first danced to at our wedding, our story tells a beautiful song of its own.
This morning in church we sang “Will you Let me Be Your Servant”. I don’t know if it’s the first time we’ve sung that in church, but I do know that either way it was the first time I really HEARD it. I’d love if you’d give it a listen.
My heart opened as I sang the lyrics thinking of OUR love story. What a blessing it is to be a servant. Being a wife isn’t anything like I imagined it would be, it’s much less enchanting and exciting, and the daily grind gets me, every.single.day. There’s so much routine, and I do not do well with routines. So many chores and selflessness, and guys, I was the baby of the family, I was used to having things done for me, not having to do them for everyone else.
BUT my heart rejoices in getting to be my husband’s servant. I mean, really, GETTING to serve him, is a blessing.
Several years ago I began praying as I folded my husband’s laundry, thanking God for the paint-stained blue jeans as I was so grateful for his strength, endurance, patience, and understanding, as he painted our whole entire home just *one* shade lighter than what we had previously had, during one of my pregnancies.
I praised God for the muddy, grass-stained socks that my husband wore while he mowed our lawn and kept our exterior looking good.
I praised God for the button-down shirts my husband wore to work, the finances to purchase them, the iron to steam them, and the strong and smart man who wore them each day. I praised Him, even more, the day we put our money together to purchase a fancy steam dryer so I wouldn’t need to wrestle a hot iron and a bulky ironing board around busy toddlers ever again.
God is so good, and I want to be good like that too. I mean, the best I can. I want the LOVE I have for my husband to flow out abundantly and I’m learning that loving abundantly and consistently doesn’t look anything like what I had imagined the day we got married. That love has grown, matured, and deepened. The love I feel for my husband today is unlike any other day. Today I looked at him and KNEW our love is going to last, rather than hoping it would as I have for the past decade and a half. I know it will because I will keep putting in the work to make it happen.
In this season of raising little ones and pouring our finances into our family, our home, and our community, our love doesn’t need expensive vacations, an extra-large home addition, or surprise vehicle birthday gifts, as I once thought was “the dream”.
Our love needs Christ, and our love needs each other. Our love story needs ME working daily to put aside myself, and devote my time and energy to my husband and HIS needs as much as I do my own. In order for our love story to keep going, it needs ME filled with the grace to let my husband serve me too. I want you to think about what YOUR love story needs.
Will You Let Me Be Your Servant by Mutual Kumquat:
Just for fun, what was your wedding song?
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