Wow, a few weeks ago I was blessed to officiate my 94th wedding. There were two things that made this one really cool. The first was that the groom was my cousin. Also, since it was a family wedding, my sister and brother-in-law, who are also the first couple I married, were there and they were just days away from celebrating their tenth anniversary.
Seeing these two couples and also a few others that I have married over the years, all in the same setting, gave me time to reflect on a few things.
Number one, I am getting old!
But secondly, and a little more seriously, I am thinking about how my advice to couples has evolved over the years. With that first couple, I counseled them for just a few sessions, now I spend six months with a couple. But one of the few things that has changed over the years, is how the rings are blessed.
Over the years I have seen big rings, blinged out rings, small rings, sacrificially paid for rings, simple rings and promise for a bigger ring in the future rings. Regardless of size, shape or sparkle, a wedding ring is a reminder of a covenant that, that husband and wife have taken with God.
I think some kinda way, we forget the God part of our marriage as “life” happens and we move away from the day we first said, “I do”. When we rest the weight of a marriage on ourselves we become responsible for all the solutions too. But the wedding ring reminds us of the unbroken covenant that we have entered our marriage into with a Holy and wholly capable God. As the ring does not have a seam nor an identifiable start or ending point, so is the covenant that God makes with a married couple.
As I say to every couple right before I pray and bless their rings,
“There will come days when you will have to look at your ring and remember that God did it.”
Over time, the sparkle may diminish slightly over the years or it may get banged around on our finger, yet as that ring encircles your finger, it is God that encircles your marriage. Within the reminder of the promises made to your marriage, is also that the promise endures through all of the challenges that your marriage faces.
I hope, as you look at your own ring you are reminded of the promise and covenant of your wedding day. God did it and He is still able.
BMWK: Do you ever look at your ring and reflect how far you’ve come?