It was a small ceremony, our closest friends and family packed into a building the size of a small pavilion. The candles were glowing, but my bride outshined them all, and it was over in a blink. We both promised ourselves we'd remember every detail, but I'm having trouble remembering much more than her smiling face coming down the aisle toward me. Thank God for video.
The pastor kept it short, the singer remembered her lines, the bride stayed in the building, the rings fit, and at 6:49pm Central Standard Time I kissed Carol Phillips for the first time.
The reception was a blast, complete with mashed potato martinis and plenty of last minute tips and advice from my married friends. Our first free moment alone was spent in tears and prayer, thanking God for the gifts he had given us in each other. It was our time to really solidify the vows we had made only a couple of hours before by coming together and inviting God to our marriage. With married couples quickly becoming the minority, giving majority status to cohabitation and casual sex in a country growing more and more afraid of anything resembling a real commitment, we both know that a life centered on Him will be the only thing that holds us together.
And its an amazing irony, we are finding, to experience the freedom that comes with being bound to another person. I don't have to hide behind a sales pitch anymore. My wife will live with me and know me like no other woman on earth. She will see my dirty laundry (literally and figuratively) and, to be honest, I find relief in that. Its a freeing feeling to stop sucking in my gut and to simply be loved for who I am, pot belly and all. Through this marriage, I have already gained valuable insights into God's grand design for relating to his people: all those "rules" that so many think will tie them down are only keys that unlock a life of freedom bound to our Creator, our Provider, our Protector. To be known so completely is only cause to breathe a deep sigh of relief and to rest, confident that if our dark secrets haven't earned us a lighting bolt by now that we must be loved by a truly merciful God. I'm thankful for that new understanding, and I can't wait for what's to come.
(I'm also wondering how long it will take me to stop glancing at my wife and saying, "holy crap...you're my WIFE!")