Wedded Bliss

For this reason a man will leave his father and his mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh. --Ephesians 5:31

November is "Celebration of Marriage" month, a campaign largely influenced by Focus on the Family. The goal is to promote healthy marriages and cultivate deeper, more meaningful marriage relationships. Although I have been married for just over a year, I am already seeing how God uses marriage to teach us about himself and the kind of love he extends to us, his church--his bride.

I think it is nearly impossible for anyone to understand exactly the kind of connection that is made between husband and wife when they are united as one flesh. Before I got married, I read dozens upon dozens of books on the subject; I researched what Doctor Dobson and Focus on the Family had to say about marriage. I pumped my family members for insight into how I could be a good wife. As valuable as all that was, it paled in comparisson to the real life aspects of marriage that greeted me on my first day as a married woman.

Until you have experienced it for yourself, I think it is nearly impossible for anyone to understand exactly the kind of connection that is made between husband and wife when they are united as one flesh. It is completely awe-inspiring the way that God has designed us to cleave with another human being, forever changing our emotional, physical and spiritual identities.

The following is a poem I wrote several months ago as I was flipping through our wedding album and reliving the experiences of that incredible day.

"A Wedding Song"

All my life I've dreamed of this moment.
Standing here today I know I'm blessed.
Full of joy,
I'm contented
beyond all words.
God knew that we should be together.
Side by side through all life's ups or downs.
Rich or poor
Sick or well
forsaking all the rest.
He put us here to share our love
and in his arms we know
We're home.

So this is what it is to be yours.
This is what it means to belong
Heart and soul,
mind and body--
all of me.
Now I understand the word 'forever'
Nothing else on earth can compare
To your love,
Your selfless giving
and your warming touch.
I know I've found my place with you
and in your arms I know
I'm home.

They say 'home is where the heart is'
so my home is here with you.
As of now, our lives become as one--
I'm now yours.
You're now mine;
Just as God planned it
In each other's arms
We're home.