One Flesh

A Day I'll Never Forget

As I stood across from him, holding his hands in mine, my heart beat so fast I thought it was going to leap out onto the floor in front of me. Every time I caught his eyes a smirk spread across his tan face. I was very aware of everyone's eyes on us, but at the same time felt like it was just the two of us as we recited our vows and slipped the rings on each others' fingers. My whole soul screamed with joy when I finally kissed my husband and said "I do" in front of our friends and family. We were so excited that we completely missed that our pastor was about to officially announce us as Mr. and Mrs. Dumont and we walked right off the stage hand in hand and headed right to the back of the church. We had such a beautiful experience to remember and we are so immensely grateful for the special memories we had surrounding our wedding day. Every time we drive by our church we look over at the field where we danced our first dance as a married couple and we reminisce about June 25th of last year. Nick will always exclaim, "Babe! Remember when we got married in that field?!" 

Reflecting on it now, it really did feel like it all happened just the other day... all the planning, prepping and excitement leading up to that moment. There were ups and there were downs and there was love and grace the entire way...

God's Hand in my Marriage

I am very thankful that Nick and I are blessed with a loving pastor. We got to go through several sessions of marriage counseling with him as we worked through a marriage workbook that was rich in scripture and truth. Pastor Wayne led us through many chapters packed full of questions and assignments to help guide Nick and I as we prepared to become united forever. I believe that doing some sort of pre-marital counseling as a believer is very important! It helps to bring up those topics you might not think are worth working through early on and guides you through scriptures that give clear truth about how God views marriage and what our roles and responsibilities are in marriage. God used these sessions before our big day to help us learn to communicate our expectations realistically and to hold us accountable to keep Him the center of our marriage right from the beginning. It is one of the most exciting seasons in life to go through, but if we didn't keep God the center I believe it wouldn't have carried as much peace and joy that it did! 

Becoming One Flesh

"Then the Lord God made a woman from the rib he had taken out of the man, and he brought her to the man. The man said, 'This is now bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh; she shall be called woman for she was taken out of man.' That is why a man leaves his father and mother and is united to his wife, and they become one flesh." Genesis 2:22-24

"They become one flesh." That sounds so easy, right? Well, luckily for us all, it is not that simple. God designed marriage to be about letting go of ourselves and sacrificing for somebody else's needs, desires and dreams. If it were all comparable to a fictional fairy tale then we would have a harder time looking to Christ for His strength and guidance. At least, I find this true for me. I know that I would depend on my own opinions of what makes a great unity and that would most likely lead to a partnership full of pride and selfishness. Thankfully, we are able to love because God first loved us (I John 4:19); God's love is like no other and can fill our lives and overflow into others' lives. His hand in my marriage is so important because only He can point others to Himself and I want to be in a marriage that reflects the character of Christ, a marriage that will turn two entities into one. 

 "Wives, submit to your own husbands, as to the Lord. For the husband is the head of the wife even as Christ is the head of the church, his body, and is himself its Savior. Now as the church submits to Christ, so also wives should submit in everything to their husbands.

 Husbands, love your wives, as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her, that he might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word, so that he might present the church to himself in splendor, without spot or wrinkle or any such thing, that she might be holy and without blemish. In the same way husbands should love their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself. For no one ever hated his own flesh, but nourishes and cherishes it, just as Christ does the church, because we are members of his body. “Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and hold fast to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh.”This mystery is profound, and I am saying that it refers to Christ and the church. However, let each one of you love his wife as himself, and let the wife see that she respects her husband." Ephesians 5:22-33

"Becoming one" encompasses all areas of your lives: emotionally, intellectually, spiritually, financially and so on and so on. This oneness leads to growing your family and to opportunities to further the kingdom of God. This is a beautiful purpose to strive toward. With one year of unity under our belts, I want to move forward pursuing God's plan for our marriage. Without Him, a true oneness is impossible. With Him in the absolute center of it, our marriage will move forward with purpose and joy!