The Everyday "Every-Moment"

We look to the skies, wondering of all we don't know: the mystique of falling stars and shooting rockets; the mystery of the Milky Way and the man in the moon. We gasp at bones unearthed - records of a species and planet long ago ceasing to exist. We ponder the where's, the why's, and especially the how's of the unknown world above, below, and around us.

But what about the miracles of the everyday, the "every-moment"? Are we as mystified by them if we fail to label them as "mystifying"? As miraculous?

Due to leading the couples ministry at our church (The Vow), we are privileged to encounter all sorts of marriages.Some are new, some are old. Some are happy; some not. And some are so full of life and hope, I find myself momentarily taken aback: we met one such couple on Sunday. Just married on September 25th, they reminded me of the everyday, "every-moment" miracles. They reminded me because, especially in their eyes, they're living one.

I love couplehood -- all stages. But it's Godly, Christ-centered marriage I love the most. And I'm not a romantic - except when it comes to marriage. This idea of two becoming one is a miracle to me. Notice that, as generations have progressed, this feat is one decreasingly achieved and increasingly scoffed by naysayers of commitment who mock, "Marriage, indeed." But make no mistake: marriage - the with you til the end, never leave nor forsake you, never have another, in it to win it, soul mate and destiny kind of marriage - is alive and well. I'm living one. I'm proud to know others who are living it, too. And, in a nation where the divorce rate is going nowhere but up, this IS a miracle. And so I was reminded of this miracle when I met this couple.

They kept close watch on the other - not as a protective measure, but rather like each saw the other as perfection. Not perfect. But perfection - the best possible version of what they needed most. They've been married for two months. We've been married 13 years. Our friends and marriage mentors, 30 years. And it seems one component never changes...

the miracle of the everyday, "every-moment."

We asked if we could pray for them, pray a blessing over this brand new covenant: for, as certain as the day is long, they will encounter hard times. But their choice to live as a miracle will give them an edge, I've no doubt. And their miracle will beget others...and so the cycle will go on. And I believe that, if we embrace and cultivate these miracles, the minority will become the majority, and marriages will thrive. Soon, we'll think a divorce is uncommon...not because we judge it or scorn it or deem it as less than we. But because the miracle conquers its opponent.

And what seems impossible or even improbable will become the everyday...the "every-moment"... of marriage.