Four Hours

Seven years ago, my family and I moved into a house in a neighborhood with a venue, which is most often used for weddings. I have written about this before, but with a different bent in Wedding Venue. The wedding season has begun and Saturday was picture perfect.

My house sits at a vantage point (or disadvantage?) of all the weddings. When the wedding is held outside, which is often the case with this venue, I can see the goings-on, and if the sound is set just right, and the wind blowing in my direction, I can hear most things that are being said.

Four hours.

That is all the time the wedding party occupied this venue space, from the time set-up began, until the time everyone left.

Four hours.

That’s all the time devoted to the making of a new family. Four hours is all the allocated time for this momentous occasion which, I’m sure, took hours and hours of planning, not to mention the thousands of dollars spent for the beginning of a newlywed couple. Four hours is all it takes to begin a lifetime.

I prayed for this couple on the eve of their nuptials, while rehearsing for a ceremony that lasted ten minutes. I prayed for the groom-turning-husband in just a few short hours, to be a strong man of God and to lead his wife well by serving her and cherishing her as the gift she is to him according to Proverbs 18:22.

I prayed for that young woman to recognize her ability to influence without manipulation. I prayed that she respect her husband and speak into the life of the one she has chosen.

I prayed for the children their union would most likely produce, and for them all to honor God, in unity and harmony, always having the good of the family and each other at the forefront. I prayed for wisdom, forgiveness and love–the real kind of love where your spouse comes most often before yourself, which will affect the children in all the ways that are good.

I prayed too for those in attendance to witness and celebrate this man and woman who were starting their forever together. I prayed that these people would be there with gentle reminders of the vows they made to God and each other.

It takes a village to make a successful marriage. I prayed those in attendance would be people to come alongside with encouragement, sage advice and prayers. It truly takes a village but without God at the helm, the village doesn’t stand much chance and the marriage won’t be near what God intended.

And I prayed that God would always be the center of this union.

Weddings and marriages go together. Weddings last four hours. Marriage for a lifetime if you do the things needed to make a wedding develop into a partnership that will grow and thrive.

What about you? Did your wedding turn into a thriving marriage, looking to honor God, serve one another and put the good of the marriage and family first always? Or did addiction or other life issue hit fast and hard?

I walk with wives who lives didn’t turn out the way thought it would, after the wedding. Let me know how I can pray for you, and if I can help you figure out your own unique next steps.