So I see ALOT of weddings… it is my profession you know to capture them…
“The Today Show” recently ran a feature that caught my eye. It made me angry. It was all about kids my age and their “practice” marriages. Apparently, the number of 18- to 29-year-old divorcees has increased from 253,000 in the 1960s to about 3 million in 1998. Who knows how bad it has gotten today…
Something’s not right here. Our generation thinks they are following their hearts… and the butterflies. They pop the question. They celebrate their engagement by moving in together, spending the next year picking out china patterns and blowing mom and dad’s money on professionally printed invitations, flower arrangements and tuxedo rentals. Within a year, they have a beautiful ceremony in a packed church, a reception with the best DJ and caterer they could afford, then a swanky honeymoon on a cruise ship.
Somewhere along the line, they neglected to take some serious time to reflect on the the words “I DO”and as soon as the pressure hits, the foundation they have built their home on starts to crumble.
Of course, the $99 no fault divorce special the lawyer with the quarter-page photo ad in the yellow pages offers seems like a great shot. And now that he moved out to Boston and she is back home with her parents, they want to pull a typical response and adjust their values to justify the whole thing: “I’ve learned so much about relationships. I now know what marriage is all about. I’ll be more careful next time.”
Which brings us to the word forever. Marriage is a specific calling. It’s not a temporary calling. It is permanent. Long before someone says, “I DO,” he has to listen to the question. Including the part that says, “Till death do us part.” A circle has no end. It keeps on going.
Marriage is a calling. Without God’s call, it’s not a marriage. It’s a couple of people legally cohabiting.
Somewhere along the line, our generation began to believe that love is beyond our control. We forgot that love is what remains when all of that fades away. We forgot that love keeps on loving even when it hurts to do so.
I am not sure where all of this came from… I see people all of the time say the words, “I do.” I video tape it for goodness sake! And then I hear the statistics!
I am sorry if this sounded a bit synical. I love weddings. I love marriage. I hope this can encourage you whether you just got married, or are about to. Remember those beautiful moments from when it all began. Those are the ones I capture and see all the time.
Know that it isn’t always easy! But, nothing in life is. Remember your promises.
