Church Bells and Wedding Daze…

I just got back from Philly a few days ago and will be heading out to Dallas in the near future. By now I should have enough frequent flier miles to go to sleep and Paris and wake up in Tokyo. It amazes me how much better it is to travel with a friend. This weekend a buddy of mine was getting married in Philly (he’d just moved there) so the whole “Houston” click went up to celebrate with him. I was able to coordinate my flight with another friend of mine and we had some quality conversations about Christ and life. I think airplanes are the perfect opportunity to share the gospel but that’s another conversation for another place and time.

For those of you who don’t know, Mark is one of my really good friends and I’m extremely excited about where God is taking him and his wife. I can’t remember being this excited about anyone getting married. This was my second wedding in one week and it was by far the best wedding I’ve ever witnessed. Both Mark and Esther (the groom and bride) really love God and it was evident at the ceremony. Everyone there was so overjoyed to see how God had faithfully brought them from college to marriage. What was even more amazing to me was how they prioritized God’s glory in their ceremony. It really moved me. Here are some pics from the wedding.

Personally, I had been struggling with a recent bought of marriage fever. Pretty much everyone around me is getting married and, while I’m in no way prepared for such a step (more on that later), my temperature was running a little high, my hands were feeling clammy, and I was feeling a little left out. But after this weekend my mindset is a little different. Right now and forever, I just want to love God and seek His glory. I’m not content to love him in the way that I currently do. I need more of him.

Like many Americans, marriage had been an idol in my heart since the days of watching Doug and PowerRangers (come-on… you know the Pink and White rangers were made for each other…). And as much as I’d love to blame Brian McKnight for one too many love songs, it boils down to not valuing God’s companionship. Yeah, I know it’s not good for man to be alone. But let’s not forget that Adam was busy doing Kingdom work and physically couldn’t accomplish the task without assistance… Eden wasn’t a matter of loneliness. If I’ve walked away with any personal application from this weekend it’s that I yearn to really love God. Mark and Esther said numerous times throughout the weekend that even their marriage ceremony wasn’t about them… but was about God and His glory. Man… I wish that was my attitude. I know that I love God. I know that I’m passionate about his glory… He just deserves so much more of my heart.