Dear Barb,
Michael and I just returned from a slightly early 25th wedding anniversary getaway at Lodge of the Four Seasons in the Ozarks. We had such a wonderful time! We ate some incredible food, danced in our room to Chicago’s Greatest Hits (courtesy of Mike’s cell phone), went parasailing, talked of our dreams, and in many ways were reawakened to the holy ground of marriage.
I have never forgotten the 8th grade Sunday School class where we talked about relationships, and you mentioned that it wasn’t too early to begin praying about marriage. I took your suggestion to heart. My “hope chest” became a “God knows when chest,” and whenever I thought about the future I made an effort to not just daydream but consciously trust God’s matchmaking, to cherish His perfect timely supply of everything my life needed.
Well, you know the next part of my story as well as anyone. At 20, I was a blushing bride to my high school sweetheart. Michael and I were so touched that, although you had been quite ill, your husband quietly snuck you in and out of the back of the church on the fringes of the ceremony so you could be at our wedding. Several friends have shared wedding stories with me recently. I don’t think I fully realized how blessed we were to stand there and exchange vows with such joy and confidence. There were no doubts, no fears, no glitches to the day. Yes, there were lots of tears, but they were tears of deep love and gratitude for each other, our God, and for all the friends and family supporting us that day.
Yesterday as Mike and I ate dinner (the best vegetable stir-fry and spinach salad ever), we watched preparations and photo-taking prior to a wedding being held in the Japanese Garden just beyond our dining table window. How relieved I was to finally see the bride’s furrowed brow give way to smiles and how my heart prayed Mary Baker Eddy’s words, “May Christ, Truth, be present at every bridal altar to turn the water into wine and to give to human life an inspiration by which man's spiritual and eternal existence may be discerned.”
I remembered this weekend that in many churches, marriage is considered a sacrament—something that helps us grow spiritually and become more aware of God’s presence in our lives. The Bible commands us to “Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy.” It occurred to me that perhaps we also need to apply this command to the sacrament of marriage. Life for many married couples gets busy--first with careers, then with family, volunteer work, and other activities. For a variety of “reasons,” Mike and I have not done a good job of making time for “us” through the years. This weekend we decided that we need to remember to provide sabbath moments for our marriage, to take time to reflect on God’s presence in our relationship, to celebrate storms weathered and hearts strengthened, to help each other unearth and bring alive our hopes and desires. I decided to once again remember to pray regularly for our marriage, not just when there are bumps in the road. I want to acknowledge God’s smile in those most romantic “I love you” moments and with joyful expectancy put our future in His hands whenever I wonder what our “happily ever after” is going to look like.
As Michael held me in his arms this weekend, I felt like a young girl again—pure, childlike, and so safe. I didn’t feel old enough to be celebrating a silver anniversary. In many ways, we probably were more honeymoon-like than we were 25 years ago. Michael was my knight in shining armor. When our first hotel room smelled unbearably musty, he called and requested another room. (The room we were so graciously given in exchange was so much bigger and inviting). It was Mike’s idea to feed each other the dark-chocolate dipped strawberries (delicious!) gifted to us by the Lodge as we had fed each other wedding cake at our reception, and he insisted on kissing repeatedly as we dangled from our parasail 300 feet over Lake of the Ozarks. We slept–in, walked in the moonlight, and swam in the indoor/outdoor pool that had welcomed us as bride and groom on our first visit in December 1983.
I’m ready to make reservations for 2033. As to the exact date, “God knows when.”
Thank you for being such a dear friend and one of the best Sunday School teachers ever!
With much love,
Maria
