Death & Marriage
Of late, there have been a few things on my mind & heart. Two of those things have been death and marriage, not particularly in that order.
The marriage issue has been making its rounds in my head for a while now. After seeing so many men of God stumble into the sin of adultery, it’s been one of those things that I’ve kept in prayer. First and foremost, I’ve been praying for these men & their families, praying for restoration, reconciliation, and continued growth in the Lord. Once I’ve lifted them up, I pray for others that I know who are married, I pray for the husbands & wives, praying that they don’t fall prey to similar temptations. Then, I find myself praying for my own marriage and my own strength. I don’t want to go down that path. It’s so easy to do, without really thinking about it; but, that’s not a path that I want to go down. I don’t want to get emotionally attached to any other woman to the point where that would even be an issue. I never want to cause my wife & family that kind of pain. I don’t want to bring my Savior that kind of shame. The hardest part, though, is knowing that as much as I pray, if I don’t continually keep my guard up, I can just as easily fall flat on my face. That’s a tough pill to swallow, and all the more reason for me to stay knit to Robin and my Lord.
But not only is there infidelity, there’s also divorce. I know way too many people who have or who are getting divorced. In some cases, I agree that it’s more than justified and biblical, but it still hurts to see, especially knowing that these are brothers and sisters in the Faith. It breaks my heart. When I heard about one friend’s divorce, my heart sank, and I wept inside. Again, that’s not a road that I ever want to go down, so I have to stay on my P’s & Q’s. At the very least, it’s situations like this that keep me on my knees interceding on behalf of others because it is so easy, even for Christians, to throw it all away and be done with it all.
The bottom line is that I want my marriage to work and to be an example of Jesus Christ and His bride, the Church. I once remember an elder at my former church telling Robin & I that other couples (young & old) were watching us to see how we were going to react in different situations. Were we going to quit or stick it out? Were we going to remain faithful and continue loving one another? I realize that people are watching, and I want my marriage to be an example of what a Christ centered marriage should look like.
Then there’s the thought of death. As I was getting ready to leave work today, a co-worker informed me that her husband’s grandfather had passed away. I gave my condolences & prayers, but the thought of losing a loved one had me thinking the entire drive home. I tried to drown my thoughts with loud music, but my thoughts screamed even louder. I thought back to October 2007 when my grandfather (on my mom’s side) passed away. Even though I didn’t shed a single tear, I still miss him. And, I haven’t seen my other grandparents (or the rest of my extended family) since that time. Knowing that my remaining grandparents (my grandmother on my mom’s side [Granny], and both of my dad’s parents) aren’t doing well, I can’t help but want to visit and see them at least once more before they pass on to glory. I want to tell them that I love them and just spend some time with them.
Not only that, but I want my children to know who their great grandparents are. Growing up, I only had the opportunity to get to know only one of my great grandparents and I wish I had the opportunity to have known her better. I can only imagine the wisdom and knowledge that she had obtained in her many years on this earth. At the very least, I want my grandparents to be able to see their great grandchildren, considering that they’ve only seen Ramiah in pictures & they all grow so fast.
Family is important and it’s not something we should think about only when they’re dead and gone. We should take the opportunity to spend time while we have the time. So, with that, already having a trip scheduled for Detroit this summer to visit Robin’s parents, we’ve made plans to make a trip back to NC to visit my parents. While in NC, we’ll make the trip up to Virginia to visit my grandparents, Lord willing that He allows them to tarry that long.
Those are my thoughts tonight, death & marriage, marriage & death. Probably better stated as marriage & family; but, simply put, both are something I want to protect and respect. Grace & peace.
