new beginnings

Ella and me in 1971

Jordan and Emily Shikles married tonight

So Jacob worked seven years to pay for Rachel. But his love for her was so strong that it seemed to him but a few days. (Genesis 29:20)

It is a new year. 2012. Sounds so science-fictiony. By now we ought to be wearing Mylar clothing and driving flying cars and eating from a tube or food pills. By now we should have a colony on the moon with men already on Mars. By now things should be going better.

But we still have gas-guzzling cars on wheels, we have stopped the space program and it has been over forty years since men were on the moon. Our clothing is cotton and wool (except for fleece clothing – that is cool) and it seems things are no real different than they were.

But on the other hand, morals are almost in the toilet, dishonesty is common, people admit openly to lying routinely in college or in business to get ahead.

So that is why it is so good that we started off the new year with a new marriage. Another life together. Jordan and Emily got married yesterday evening. There were a lot of people there to help celebrate, both at the church and at the dinner afterwards.

I was thinking of my own marriage beginning. January 9, 1971, I was a tall, straight, clean-limbed, incredibly fit soldier and Ella was beautiful. We got married on a Saturday morning at 10:00 in a relatively simple wedding with a large group of people attending. I only had one groomsman and Ella only one bridesmaid. I think there were 35 of each at this wedding last night.

We committed ourselves to being together until death do us part, just like Jordan and Emily did last night. So far, so good. Neither of us have died. But it looks like it will hold. I am no longer straight, clean-limbed nor fit, but Ella is still beautiful.

As with our own marriage, it is a great way to start off a new year. We get to looking at new years with a jaundiced eye figuring it will be nothing more but the same as it was last year.

But we have the chance to have a new year, with new relationships and closer to being with God in glory.

I always use that passage above when I marry people. I didn’t have to work to get her (I was larger than her dad) but we have had to work to keep it good. Nobody, no matter what anybody says, just goes along for a life-time without hard work on the part of both in a marriage.

But as with a new year, it is worth it. In the new year we move on to God, coming closer and closer.

May God’s blessings be on Jordan and Emily as well as all of us in this new year.