… Of Marriage!
June 10th 1989 was the day those words reverberated in Fishponds Baptist Church … “I Do.” In fact, so many of our guests commented on two things after the service:
- It was one of the few weddings they’d been to where the bride and groom said their vows to each other and loud enough so people could hear at the back of the Church – not difficult for me!
And, previous to the actual day, during our practice, we started saying our vows and I stopped the minister … I told him “I want to say my vows to Chris, not you.” He laughed and said “point taken.” So, on the day, this is what we did … looked into each other’s eyes and said our vows like we meant them! - How blessed they were. We didn’t have the usual order of service - We wanted to give people a taste of Church! And if you didn’t dance, it’s because you didn’t know how to!
One thing is for certain, that day was a day of celebration for both Chris and me and as I stress to everyone, the angels rejoiced then and have been rejoicing ever since. That’s not to say we’ve not had our fair share of troubles and, dare I say, it’s not to say that there haven’t been times when we’ve both felt like walking away, but we stayed the course!
I knew on June 10th 1989 that Chris was the man God had ordained for me to marry and even a few years ago when our marriage went through its biggest trial in our 20 years of marriage, the one thing that that was etched in my mind was the “KNOWING” that Chris would play a vital role in the fulfilment of my destiny and likewise, I would play a major role in his.
It was this “KNOWING” that has given both of us the will, desire and motivation to stay the course. In other words, it was a heart thing and not a head thing.
Perhaps one day, I’ll have to write an article on how you know you should stay the course because I believe too many dreams are aborted because people listen to their head and not their heart. Too often, we listen to other people and not the Holy Spirit and then wonder why we make such huge and stupid mistakes.
Had I listened to the person who was very close to me at the time that Chris and I were going through tough times in our marriage a few years ago, I would have divorced him! But immediately when I heard that word “divorce” come out of this person’s mouth, I knew where it was coming from and, it wasn’t heaven sent. And I’m not saying this out of religious belief, i.e. ”I don’t believe in divorce” but, because as I said, the angels rejoiced when we said “I do” and, we walked into our marriage with the Holy Spirit, knowing that the person we were about to be “tied” to was the very person God ordained for us to marry and, this path was set for us, EVEN before the world began.
How is that for assurance!
I wish I had a digital photograph to post here, but 20 years feels like an age and I almost feel as though they were taken in the 60′s!! And for any of you younger folk reading this, yes our wedding photographs are in full colour!
Have a blessed day,
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