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enthusiastic about having to spend a week with Tinkerbell’s relatives watching me, it was a minor detail that could be overlooked. What could not be overlooked however, was the deep uneasiness we felt while in the cabin. After feeling a little like something bad was going to happen, we decided to pray and ask God to help bring peace into the cabin. As we prayed, we began to feel very afraid, and things started moving in the cabin without us touching them. We heard footsteps on the stairs going up and down, and what had been a silent cabin just moments ago began to creak and come to life. Needless to say, it wasn’t a place we wanted to spend our honeymoon. We promptly left, and drove back to Michigan and camped on a beach, which was actually quite fun. So much for the honeymoon in the mountains though.
My Happily Ever After
Ever since, I’ve been learning how to do life with another human being who has wants and hopes and dreams, and who disagrees with me on many things. While we fell in love just as anyone else does with all of the feelings and smiles, we are married just like anyone else, with tensions and disagreements. That’s not to say that marriage is only made up of tensions and disagreements; it actually is made up of what you and your spouse will put into it. I can say honestly that the last two years with my wife have been the best of my life, but I know not everyone shares that same opinion on the first years of their marriage. Your experience can depend on a lot of factors, many of which are decided by you and your future spouse. Sarah and I make a lot, and I mean a lot, of mistakes, but we have learned to forgive each other quickly, just as God forgives us quickly of our sin towards Him. An attitude of humility can change everything.
A Call to Live Focused
Why do I make mention of this divine love story? It is because our culture has spun a web of lies concerning the truth of relationships. Our ladies are taught that if they can just find a man, they can be happy. And admittedly, the very hormones inside our bodies can tell us the exact same thing. I want to affirm that it is not, I repeat not wrong to have the warm and fuzzy feelings towards a guy.
If you are a normal Christian lady, you have probably been warned many times of the danger of falling into sin with a young man. I want to affirm that there can be danger, and we all have to draw boundaries to protect our purity before the Lord and before each other. But why do we strive to stay pure? Why does God call us to save ourselves for our spouses? What’s the why behind the what? I believe it is because the gift of sex was given for marriage, and marriage only, by God, and it simply will never, ever, work the way it was designed to outside of the context of a covenant relationship between a man and a woman. It is designed to bond a woman and man together at the deepest level, and outside of the security of marriage, it can be outrageously destructive.
In spite of many temptations and the popular culture, by God’s grace my wife and I saved the gift of our sexuality for each other, and I have never regretted that decision. I didn’t “miss out” on anything, rather I have a marriage that is free from a lot of emotional baggage.
Ladies, I would like to encourage you in one thing, from a male perspective: You have an incredible amount to offer any man. You are designed to compliment men, just as men are designed to compliment you. There is a man out there for those of you who desire to get married, and with God’s help, the two of you can enjoy a life together that is far more meaningful than a short-lived fling.
The reception was also fun, besides my discovery in front of my friends and family that my dancing skills are not as impressive as I had initially hoped. On the way out of the wedding however, Sarah got pretty sick and didn’t really feel better for a few days.
But! We had a private log cabin to look forward to in the mountains of Tennessee, and we could at least be excited about that. Upon arriving the next evening, we quickly discovered that there was something not quite right about this cabin. Physically speaking, the cabin was gorgeous. It smelled good, had a hot tub, and a view of the mountains. But there was more to the decorations than just that. As we settled in, we realized that there were fairies everywhere. Yes, fairies. Paintings of fairies, fairy dolls, and fairy sculptures. While not overly enthusiastic about having to spend a week with Tinkerbell’s relatives watching me, it was a minor detail that could be overlooked. What could not be overlooked, however; was the deep uneasiness we felt while in the cabin.
Photo by Elescir
“I have loved you with an everlasting love; I have drawn you with unfailing kindness." Jeremiah 31:3