Today Tommy and I have been married for five months. I can hardly believe it’s been that long. It feels like just yesterday when we stood in front of all of our friends and family and promised each other forever. It has been a dream since that day but also not how I expected it in the least.
God has done a lot of work in my heart since being married. He has revealed to me things about myself that I wouldn’t have known otherwise. One of those things was that I didn’t really believe that He was good. After getting married I had this fear that something terrible was going to happen to me. It was very subtle at first but over the months it became more and more obvious. And it wasn’t until God healed me of this anxiety that I even fully understood what I was even believing.
I believed that I didn’t deserve to have good things happen to me. I grew up in a pretty broken home where it kind of felt like bad things happening were the norm. I think I just got used to this feeling and learned to expect it. So here I am now, the day after I get married and thinking this can’t last. It has to blow up eventually because that’s what always happens.
But God has been ever so gentle with me and has taught me that this just isn’t true. Bad things don’t always have to happen. He desires to see His children happy and while I’m still learning this, I feel like I’ve had tremendous growth in the past week or so. I no longer feel like I have to walk around being afraid of what is going to happen next. I can cherish where I am knowing that God is here with me and brought me to this place. He loves me and He also loves you. He desires to see His children delight in Him but also in the good gifts that He gives.
I just want to leave you guys with our wedding vows. We picked ones that our church had and personalized them a bit. They are very special because it signifies that we will promise to love each other through the good and the bad, and to ultimately follow God as the goal of our lives. But we get to do it together now. How awesome is marriage.
I, Tommy, take you, Ashley, to be my wedded wife. I love you and know that this love is from God. Because of this, I want to be your husband so that we might serve Christ together. Through all of the uncertainties and trials of the present and future, I promise to be faithful to you and love you. I promise to guide and protect you as Christ does his church, as long as we both shall live. God’s Word gives us the perfect example of this love in Christ’s death for the Church. I shall try always, with God’s help, to show you this same kind of love, for I know that in His sight we will both be one.
I, Ashley, take you, Tommy, to be my wedded husband. I love you. I prayed that God would lead me to his choice. I praise Him that tonight His will is being fulfilled. Through the pressures of the present and uncertainties of the future I promise my faithfulness, to follow you through all of life’s experiences as you follow God, that together we may grow in the likeness of Christ and our home be a praise to Him.
