The Blessing of Family
Psalm 127:3-5
3 Lo, children are an heritage of the Lord: and the fruit of the womb is his reward.
4 As arrows are in the hand of a mighty man; so are children of the youth.
5 Happy is the man that hath his quiver full of them: they shall not be ashamed, but they shall speak with the enemies in the gate
My son in law’s grandparents just celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary with a vow renewal. I was not expecting to be so moved by the ceremony. But their story, so similar to my own parent’s story, is such a beautiful story of love and grace and God’s mercy that it was impossible not to be touched.
My parent’s have been married 61 years this July. Like this couple, they married young, didn’t give their hearts to Christ until their children were grown, and had some tough years. Marriage is tough even with Jesus. I don’t know how they made it so long without Him.
The moment I sat down in the church for the renewal ceremony, I was touched to see three of their grandsons providing song and music. I was touched when the “groom” came out with a sweet grin I imagine he wore 50 years ago. I was touched when the “bride” and “groom” looked at each other and giggled over the antics of a great grandchild. But I was moved to ugly crying when the children, grandchildren, and great grandchildren walked out before the “bride”. This is what 50 years of honoring your commitment, staying with it when you didn’t want to, and loving just one person looks like. What a blessing.
Again, I thought of my parents and their 61 years. It wasn’t easy. They are very different people. Neither of them had Christ for the first 25 years or so, making it even harder. It still isn’t easy. I look at their family, three children, 11 grandchildren, and 16 great grandchildren so far, all because two skinny teenagers fell in love over 60 years ago. They would tell you the past 61 years have been worth it. Jordan’s grandparents would tell you their 50 years have been worth it. So, what am I telling you? Honor your vows. It will be worth it in the end. It still won’t be perfect. Both families have had hurt and disappointment and will continue to until Jesus comes back, but the bond of family is strong, and God’s love and mercy is great!
