Andersen Jon - Inviting God to your wedding and keeping God in your marriage

God is the silent partner in
all great enterprises.

ABRAHAM LINCOLN

Therefore everyone who hears His words and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock.

MATTHEW 7:2425

In the months before our wedding, I searched the shelves of my favorite bookstores for a wedding book that I never found: a book that would celebrate my joy and acknowledge my fears. A book that would be a silent friend who wouldnt overwhelm me with week-by-week checklists and endless pictures of table settings and chairs that looked like gold bamboo. I knew that before I began organizing the most important event of my life, I needed to organize my heart. Soon I discovered that my fianc, Jon, was looking for the very same book. We both needed help deciding not how big the wedding should be, not how much it should cost or where it should take place, but how we could make it meaningful to us and to those we would gather around us.

How many times have I attended a wedding that was a performance piece, a theatrical event instead of a sacred occasion? I have sat through many years of quick ceremonies and blowout parties, Camelot theme weddings, and the beautiful but bewildering virtual weddings that were all style and no content. Often I recognize calligraphy on a large white envelope among the junk mail and sigh, Oh no, another wedding.

It seemed to me that many weddings had become a substitute for the prom or the Oscars or the Miss America pageant or whatever dream had never been fulfilled. The wedding day had been transformed into a chance to even the score with a captive audience summoned to attend for the purposes of being impressed by money or size or creativity rather than being included at the moment of a precious miracle.

And a miracle is exactly what a marriage can be. We are all married in the sight of God, but if you invite Him to the wedding and the preparations, being married in the presence of God is a wholly different experience. Because when God is there, suddenly all of your priorities are in order. You become less concerned about losing ten pounds before the last fitting. Youre not worried if it rains. Your highest priority is to get ready spiritually.

Are you ready to forget the old boyfriends? To throw away the love letters and the mementos of past relationships that can damage your marriage? Are you ready to say no to the toxic guest who will certainly spend the reception wondering how long the two of you will last? Are you ready to laugh when the cake is chocolate instead of lemon? Are you ready to cry when you need to cry instead of protecting your make-up? Are you ready to allow your fiancs dreams for his wedding to change the dreams youve always had for yours? Are you ready to be a hostess at your wedding rather than a princess?

Why would you put on a new dress and new shoes but get married with an old heart? Dont you want to feel as beautiful and new inside as you will look on the outside? Are you ready to invite the One Guest who can perform that miracle? I believe God wants to be there. His love and concern for His children will help you and your fianc get ready for a lifetime together.