Cue the stereotypical 80s synthesizers. The Final Countdown is upon us. I am marrying my best friend in 100 days. There are a mixture of feelings whirling about in my being. Time has seemed to pass by so quickly since that day when I surprised her as she left work and asked her to marry me. Yet, at other times, it has seemed to pass by so slowly, as if the day would never get here.
Despite the random speeds that time seems to take, I am feeling rather excited, yet also nervous. It is a somewhat similar feeling that I had on November 4th of last year (the day I proposed). I was very excited for this major step I was going to take, and yet I was also nervous. Looking back, those nerves don't seem to make sense. They still don't seem to make sense. I was very confident that she would say yes, just as I am very confident she will say "I do" on October 30th.
Perhaps it's the fact that the road I am taking is a sudden and different one. All the changes in my life have seemed to come gradually. Yet, on that day when my best friend and I get new titles - "husband and wife" - I realize that I will wake up the following morning a married man. It will no longer be about me, but about "us."
You can point to the fact that we have been dating since 2004 as an indicator that we know each other quite well. Yet, I feel that being a husband will be such a different adventure for me. Others have crossed this bridge before and have made it, but the nerves are still there when I think about how close the day has gotten.
I know, however, that if I follow the perfect example of love, that I'm going to be all right. More importantly, that "we" are going to be all right. I'm prepared to love Alexandra the way Jesus loved His bride - the Church. I'm prepared to speak to her in kindness and truth the way Jesus spoke with kindness and truth to His flock. I'm prepared to share my gifts with her with the same charity Jesus showed to those around Him. I'm prepared to sacrifice everything so that she could gain everything, just as Jesus gave it all so that Church can be all that it is and all that it can be.
I am definitely in love. And one hundred days from now, that love will be manifest in a new covenant that I will share with the one that I love.
Let the Final Countdown begin...
Thursday, July 21, 2011
Monday, July 4, 2011
One Founder on Independence Day
After the signing of the Declaration of Independence, John Adams wrote the following letter to Abigail and the children.
Happy Fourth!
The Second Day of July 1776, will be the most memorable Epocha, in the History of America. I am apt to believe that it will be celebrated, by succeeding Generations, as the great anniversary Festival. It ought to be commemorated, as the Day of Deliverance by solemn Acts of Devotion to God Almighty. It ought to be solemnized with Pomp and Parade, with Shews, Games, Sports, Guns, Bells, Bonfires and Illuminations from one End of this Continent to the other from this Time forward forever more. You will think me transported with Enthusiasm but I am not. I am well aware of the Toil and Blood and Treasure, that it will cost Us to maintain this Declaration, and support and defend these States. Yet through all the Gloom I can see the Rays of ravishing Light and Glory. I can see that the End is more than worth all the Means. And that Posterity will tryumph in that Days Transaction, even altho We should rue it, which I trust in God We shall not. (The Book of Abigail and John: Selected Letters of the Adams Family, 1762-1784, Harvard University Press, 1975, 142).
Happy Fourth!
The Second Day of July 1776, will be the most memorable Epocha, in the History of America. I am apt to believe that it will be celebrated, by succeeding Generations, as the great anniversary Festival. It ought to be commemorated, as the Day of Deliverance by solemn Acts of Devotion to God Almighty. It ought to be solemnized with Pomp and Parade, with Shews, Games, Sports, Guns, Bells, Bonfires and Illuminations from one End of this Continent to the other from this Time forward forever more. You will think me transported with Enthusiasm but I am not. I am well aware of the Toil and Blood and Treasure, that it will cost Us to maintain this Declaration, and support and defend these States. Yet through all the Gloom I can see the Rays of ravishing Light and Glory. I can see that the End is more than worth all the Means. And that Posterity will tryumph in that Days Transaction, even altho We should rue it, which I trust in God We shall not. (The Book of Abigail and John: Selected Letters of the Adams Family, 1762-1784, Harvard University Press, 1975, 142).
Friday, July 1, 2011
I'm 24...for a Moment
I thought I'd pay homage to Five for Fighting's "100 Years" in the title to this post. When I think about that song, I think about how quickly life goes by.
Today is my 24th birthday, and that number is not highlighted in that hit single. Nor is it highlighted in Kenny Chesney's "Don't Blink." But when I think about the age I'm at, I kind of realize that in the grand scheme of things, "24" is not an exciting age. It is not a milestone of any kind. In fact, if you look at the upcoming milestones in my life - 25, 30, 40, etc. - they are just numerical proofs that time flies by, and that none of us are getting any younger.
I look at the changes in my life since I turned 23, and I realized that I am a blessed man. Let's rewind, shall we?
I was hired to finally teach full-time with benefits at a private, Catholic school to teach Social Studies (my kind of shindig). In November, I proposed to my high school sweetheart. In January, I found out that I was going to be an uncle. A little later on, I found out that she was going to be a girl. Sprinkle in a lot of other events, and this could equate to a very eventful year. However, like all things, these events have quickly become a part of my past.
This upcoming year, I WILL be married. This upcoming year, I WILL be an uncle. This upcoming year, I WILL lose hair (all right, this last was happening already, anyways). In the grand scheme of things, I am a limited creature. And although I am heading into my "prime", I guess, I realize more what those limitations are.
While it could be depressing to some that they are getting older (after all, I'm going to be a quarter-century old next year!), I see it as a reminder that I have been given these years as a gift.
I never am really all that excited for my birthdays. I am not really a "party" kind of guy. I prefer staying in, watching a ball game, or hanging with friends in a very relaxed setting. But the other day, a spark of excitement emerged within me.
Yes, I'm 24. And immediately, the only positive thing I can think of about "24" is that it was one of my favorite TV shows back when it was on the air. I'm more excited because it reminds me more about who God is, rather than who I am. In the long run, my story doesn't mean much if I don't pay attention to History...His Story.
On this day, my 24th birthday, I am fortunate that I try not keep the focus on myself. I find that I only get in emotional or spiritual trouble when I do focus on Yours Truly. My focus is on the One who made this all possible. My focus is on the One who led me home. My focus is on the One who has guided my steps since that time. My focus is on the One who lets me back in whenever I fall away.
My birthday wish this year? I wish that everyone would feel that way at one point in their lives; that everyone would establish that relationship. It is that relationship that has formed the standard in my other relationships. If everyone held that as the standard (and this includes many Christians who do not), this world would surely see the change that it desperately needs.
"There's never a wish, better than this...when you've only got a hundred years to live."
Today is my 24th birthday, and that number is not highlighted in that hit single. Nor is it highlighted in Kenny Chesney's "Don't Blink." But when I think about the age I'm at, I kind of realize that in the grand scheme of things, "24" is not an exciting age. It is not a milestone of any kind. In fact, if you look at the upcoming milestones in my life - 25, 30, 40, etc. - they are just numerical proofs that time flies by, and that none of us are getting any younger.
I look at the changes in my life since I turned 23, and I realized that I am a blessed man. Let's rewind, shall we?
I was hired to finally teach full-time with benefits at a private, Catholic school to teach Social Studies (my kind of shindig). In November, I proposed to my high school sweetheart. In January, I found out that I was going to be an uncle. A little later on, I found out that she was going to be a girl. Sprinkle in a lot of other events, and this could equate to a very eventful year. However, like all things, these events have quickly become a part of my past.
This upcoming year, I WILL be married. This upcoming year, I WILL be an uncle. This upcoming year, I WILL lose hair (all right, this last was happening already, anyways). In the grand scheme of things, I am a limited creature. And although I am heading into my "prime", I guess, I realize more what those limitations are.
While it could be depressing to some that they are getting older (after all, I'm going to be a quarter-century old next year!), I see it as a reminder that I have been given these years as a gift.
I never am really all that excited for my birthdays. I am not really a "party" kind of guy. I prefer staying in, watching a ball game, or hanging with friends in a very relaxed setting. But the other day, a spark of excitement emerged within me.
Yes, I'm 24. And immediately, the only positive thing I can think of about "24" is that it was one of my favorite TV shows back when it was on the air. I'm more excited because it reminds me more about who God is, rather than who I am. In the long run, my story doesn't mean much if I don't pay attention to History...His Story.
On this day, my 24th birthday, I am fortunate that I try not keep the focus on myself. I find that I only get in emotional or spiritual trouble when I do focus on Yours Truly. My focus is on the One who made this all possible. My focus is on the One who led me home. My focus is on the One who has guided my steps since that time. My focus is on the One who lets me back in whenever I fall away.
My birthday wish this year? I wish that everyone would feel that way at one point in their lives; that everyone would establish that relationship. It is that relationship that has formed the standard in my other relationships. If everyone held that as the standard (and this includes many Christians who do not), this world would surely see the change that it desperately needs.
"There's never a wish, better than this...when you've only got a hundred years to live."
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