Married!!!

Well, I am married! I got married just over 2 weeks ago and I am so excited. As you can see, I have a couple pictures here taken by my sister-in-law, Melissa. Thanks, Melissa! We are still waiting for the official shots from the photographer. There are several more that Melissa took that I would like to add now, but I am having trouble getting them to work. When I figure this out, I will post some more.

The several weeks leading up to the marriage ceremony were very hectic and stressful, but there was joy in all of it knowing that I was going to end up with the love of my life, Julie Moore. I have learned so many things over the last 2 months and I am so thankful to God for giving me such a wonderful gift as my wife. Here are some things I have learned…

There are certain issues that arise when you have an engagement of less than six weeks, but I still highly recommend it. If you are into big weddings (we’re not), you probably shouldn’t try the short engagement. There are so many details that have to be addressed that the shorter the engagement, the smaller the wedding probably will be. We said from the beginning that we were going to keep everything very simple, but as more people get involved, the harder it is to do that. Still the wedding was relatively simple and, by all accounts, truly beautiful.

Many people are involved in the wedding. I had no idea. There were showers, some of which I had never heard, that probably involved more than a hundred people, all told. There was the florist and her staff, the photographer, the videographer, the pastor, the session of the church (approving decisions), the organist (my father in this case), the pianist, the three singers, all the groomsman and bridesmaids (and their families), the wedding coordinator, the parents and family of the groom, the parents and family of the bride, the tux people, the invitation people, the program people, and so on. I am sure that I can’t remember a lot of them. I had thought that Julie and I would plan our wedding one lovely afternoon. I was so mistaken.


I also didn’t realize that many wedding decisions are made by the parents of the bride. In a very real sense, the wedding is a reflection on them, so they get to call many of the shots. They have every right to make sure that the wedding doesn’t reflect poorly on them and this is fair since they are paying for it. I just had never realized it before.

People give LOTS of really nice (and often expensive) gifts to the bride and groom. I am overwhelmed and I am told that if our engagement had been longer, we would have gotten lots more. Unbelievable.

Registering is a blast. Going around shooting anything you want with the laser gun thing is really cool. The best part is knowing that you actually might get some of it as gifts!

I had never known very much about fine china, everyday wear, holiday wear, or sterling silver before. I didn’t even know a lot of it existed, but there I was helping to pick out designs for some of it and even chose our everyday silverware. The knife that doesn’t lay flat but stands on its edge is so cool.

I am also learning that marriage is so much fun. I am having a great time being in my house with my wife. Simply being together is such a joy. It is hard work for somebody like me who has been a bachelor for so long and who is used to leaving things all over the house, but we are learning every day how to relate to each other and love unconditionally. We know this is a learning process that we will be involved in for the rest of our lives.

I think that the most important thing I am learning from all of this is to trust God more deeply. I know that marriage is a huge adventure with great times and hard times in store. I remember hearing John Piper talking about marriage. He said, “How do you enter into a marriage relationship without being paralyzed with fear? You don’t know what is in store for you. You don’t really know who you are marrying! You don’t know what that person will be like 10 years from now.” That does not sound very encouraging. But the key to marriage is the same as the key to all of life: trusting God to take care of you day after day. His grace is sufficient and His mercies are new every morning. This is the essence of our faith and the thing that will sustain our love no matter comes our way.

Please pray that we will be able to apply our faith in the wonderful promises of God on a daily basis.