Many reading this article have had one of the most amazing experiences of a lifetime. I am not talking about walking down the aisle; I am talking about something that is really beyond words. It’s a supernatural experience. I am talking about the day you hold your first child.
This baby, being so small, so fragile, creates some of the most powerful feelings inside you that you will ever experience. I think that’s how God feels when you walk down the aisle before friends and family and say those life-changing words, “I do.”
I can imagine why. He feels so proud, amazed and happy as He builds His final creation, your marriage. This creation is still young and doesn’t know much, but has amazing potential and brings amazing joy to His heart.
Similar to the moment of holding a newborn, which is amazing alone, marriage also has many moments that lead up to and allow you to finally experience the miracle moment. There is the inception moment of the child, then the moments wondering if you are pregnant before you even decide to tell your husband. Then the moment comes to share the exciting news. Medical tests follow to verify this information along with vitamins and doctor’s visits.
Remember conversations about what color the baby’s room was going to be and what baby equipment you were going to get your future child? How many hours went into picking a name? Sonograms, cravings, mood swings, thoughts about the ever-expanding body, the baby’s health and bed rest followed.
Getting closer to the due date came with birthing classes, planning for the hospital visit, bags packed and the moment she says, “It’s time.” The baby arrives and this new little face gets to see you and the world around it. What a glorious moment.
In the same way that there were so many moments that led up to the birth of your child, there were also many moments that lead you up to the miracle of your marriage.
Your marriage was a miracle in progress before you ever met. Before Adam ever could conceive of an idea called Eve, God was behind the scenes planning. He was training Adam to have a relationship with God. This was a relationship Adam would deeply need before he ever met a woman.
I don’t know about you, but when I held both of my children at birth, I had several strong feelings invade my masculine soul. First, I was very sure there was a very big, amazing, creative, all-powerful God who gives the gift of life.
Secondly, I was largely aware that He alone was God, and I was not. I knew other than an infinitely small contribution I had nothing to do with this amazing child I was holding. I didn’t make this child grow, give substance, choose their eye or hair color or their personality. In other words, I was convinced there was a God, and I was not He.
Thirdly, I felt humbled, even unworthy of this miracle I was holding. I don’t know about you, but throughout my Christian walk, I have received many miracles. I have been healed and delivered many times from circumstances. I have been supernaturally provided for numerous times as God has matured me. Like you, I have been in need of a miracle many times.
When we receive a miracle, we are humbled at the awareness that we are not innately worthy of the miracle God just graced us with, and it is apparent. When you hold a child, you know you hold a miracle. When you hold a marriage, you also hold in your hand and heart a genuine, one-of-a-kind, special-delivery miracle from God to you. That’s not only a feeling that your marriage is a true miracle of God. it’s the truth. God created marriage; God created your marriage, and your marriage is a miracle.
I find couples who see their marriage as a miracle have totally different core beliefs about marriage than those who are not aware that their marriage is a miracle. Those that are not consistently cognizant that their marriage is a real miracle and a gift to them have totally different ideas or beliefs about their marriage. Just like those of us who do not believe our life is a God-created miracle believe and behave totally in contradiction to the fact that God created us for His purpose and pleasure. {eoa}
Doug Weiss, Ph.D., is a nationally known author, speaker and licensed psychologist. He is the executive director of Heart to Heart Counseling Center in Colorado Springs, Colorado, and the author of several books including Miracle of Marriage. You may contact Dr. Weiss via his website, drdougweiss.com, by phone at 719-278-3708 or through email at [email protected].