Hi everyone,
So I’ll be officiating at 4 weddings this year. I don’t know if you’re familiar with my history of officiating at weddings, but 4 in one year is a lot for me. Some are connected to our congregation, most are not (you do the math). But still, it’s 4.
And in preparing for these weddings, it makes me think of my own wedding all those years ago. As I put together materials and lesson plans for the marriage preparation course that I lead with the couples I officiate for, I think of all the ways that these tips and relationship life hacks would help me in my marriage. As I just ponder on the kind of service and life I wish for these young couples, I think of how I felt as I was preparing for my own wedding. And more often than not, one thing comes to mind:
“What on earth was I thinking?”
Now, I’m not saying that in a negative way, in that I shouldn’t have gotten married to begin with. But more than my idea of marriage was so small, so immature, so younger me that I couldn’t have imagined back then how marriage is now.
That is, how fulfilling, how rich, and how loving marriage could be. I guess it is true what they say, “good things come to those who wait”. Because this isn’t what I signed up for, it is actually so much better.
Here are next week’s readings:
Isaiah 62:1-5
Psalm 36:5-10
1 Corinthians 12:1-11
John 2:1-11
I read this story about the wedding in Cana and man alive I wish Jesus were at my wedding. Free booze! But I do find it interesting as to the order of the events in this story.
First, three days pass. If that doesn’t ring any bells then I’m afraid you aren’t listening hard enough.
Then, Jesus goes and does his water-into-wine thing. Everyone was afraid that they were out of luck, but relatively unknown but still trusted Jesus stepped up in a big way. And the chief steward comes and says that they saved the best for last. Amazing.
So as this chief steward, the guests, and likely even the wedding couple were surprised with how the good stuff came out at the end of the celebration, so sometimes we are surprised of how rich and full our relationship with God ends up to be.
Often we jump in head first, gung-ho and ready to serve, worship, and be blessed. But the relationship doesn’t work that way. The community isn’t formed overnight. The presence and Spirit of God might not be felt immediately, but it takes time to learn, to grow, and to get used to recognising God’s hand at work in our world and in our lives. And quite frankly, it is well worth the wait.
This isn’t to say that we’ll get there and everything will just go swimmingly. But it is to say that things get better in time, we see and hear God more as we grow, and God’s peace is more apparent the more we look for it. That just as how things are in many of our marriages and relationships, the best is yet to come.
Have a great week, everyone!