On August 19th I celebrated seven years married to the man that amazes me, encourages me and loves me. He is my best friend and partner in everything and it all started with a walk down the aisle… Followed by a run!
We got married in a beautiful outside setting. I was 18 and he was 19, so young and in love! It was mid August in upstate New York. The wild flowers were everywhere, the sunflowers were getting tall and the sun shined that warm glow on everything it touched. But on our wedding, the storm clouds rolled in and threatened rain. (And how appropriate! I love the rain!)
I remember standing in my spot waiting to walk down the aisle, and for the first time feeling nervous. I realized all eyes would be on me. Most brides just stare ahead and look at their groom, but not me. My groom wasn’t there. We had decided to do our ceremony based on the verse that says:
Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and they shall become one flesh. (Genesis 2:24 NKJV)
We knew we wanted to literally demonstrate what this verse said. It is mentioned a total of four times in the Bible regarding marriage and to us it was important to illustrate this scripture in our ceremony. (Check out Matthew 19:5, Mark 10:7, Ephesians 5:31)
I knew I would walk in first, and then, my groom would follow after me to take me as his bride. Where he was waiting, I had no clue. So, when I walked down the aisle and saw him nowhere in sight, my mind got a little curious/nervous. I waited at the end of the aisle and our wonderful pastor grabbed my hand. He knew that I might be a little confused as to where my groom was waiting.
Our pastor started talking to our guests about the beauty of marriage and how God views it. He spoke of the importance God places on marriage and how it depicts the beautiful relationship Christ has with His church – the church being the bride and Christ our bridegroom. He talked briefly about Jesus coming again for His bride! How beautiful of a picture that is for us as believers! Then, in a loud voice, our pastor shouted: “and the bridegroom cometh!” This was the signal for my handsome groom to come and take me as his bride. I started looking around excitedly (as did all our guests) wondering where he would appear from.
Then I saw him.
My heart skipped a beat and my eyes filled with tears. I got a lump in my throat and my heart started racing! And so did my groom. He was up a small hill to my left when I looked out for him. He was hidden behind the tree line and when he was signaled to come for me, he had emerged. His steady walk quickly became a sprint as he started running down the hill to take his bride… me! The symbolization was so powerful and our guests caught on! As my groom was running towards me, everyone started cheering and shouting.
They just couldn’t help but cheer, the same way he just couldn’t help but run and the same way Christ can’t help but pursue us!
He is running toward you! He came for you, His beloved, and He desires you. And He promises to come again in the clouds for us.
Do you view yourself as the beautiful bride Christ is coming again for?
Do you realize the pursuit Christ has for you, His bride?
My husband and I love having this constant reminder in our marriage as well as every time we tell the story of our wedding day. It was not only the special and unique way we wanted to be married but it is the illustration God designed for His bride, His church.
Happy Anniversary to the love of my life. I love you more deeply now than I ever have before. ~es