Marriage?

I grabbed her in a wild bear hug as she made her way from the office into the kitchen. She may be almost 18 and heading to college next year, but she is my girl none-the-less. She may be taller than I, but my arms still fit round her sweetness quite well.

In that brief moment of conversation, Angel reminded me that she will be going to college and may never really be coming back. She may just find someone special and get married. Oh, can’t you just feel the twinge in my heart! Then again, that would be a wonderful thing. Not that she will not be back to stay, but that she will have found someone to spend the rest of her life with, a husband.

Marriage is a beautiful gift given by a loving all-knowing God. I am blessed to have been married for 21+ years. It is much about the courtship and the marriage ceremony, but it is so much more than that. I reminded Angel that marriage is a good thing to plan for, but marriage is just the beginning.

Being married means that are able to spend the rest of your life side by side with your best friend. It means you have a forever partner both in ministry and in parenting. It means that you should never be without a date on a Friday night. It means that you have a hand to hold when things get tough and when things are not. It means that you have someone to share life with – both the good and the bad – until death parts you.

I love my children. It will be a long time before our nest is truly empty. Angel is our first child, though, to spread her wings a bit. I would love for her to land not too far from home. Marriage may not be ultimately what God has planned for her. I pray, though, that a very special Godly young man sweeps her off of her feet and loves her more and more each day for the rest of her life.