Love always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. 1 Corinthians 13:6
We have officially postponed our wedding.
I wish I could say it is a decision that was easily made, or one that didn’t bring tears upon tears, or sleepless nights, but that’s not the case. Drew and I both knew in our hearts what needed to be done, and that it was the right thing to do, but it still was not easy. I mentioned before that we would never put our wedding before the health and safety of those we loved, and we stand by that statement and are confident that postponement was the only thing to do. But as a bride, giving up something that meant so much to me, that had been dreamed of, planned for, and prayed over for so long was heartbreaking.
However, if anything has been revealed to me in this season, it is this – we serve a mighty and powerful God, who is fully in control. Our plans are so insignificant compared to those He has for us. And while this experience is one I tried and tried to pray away, He has shown his sovereignty and faithfulness and love so clearly, time and time again.
**Similar to my first post, I want to be so clear in my intentions in sharing this are simply from my perspective as a bride. I realize my postponed wedding is not the most significant or heartbreaking thing caused by this pandemic. In the grand scheme of life and everything going on, it is simply a minor inconvenience. I realize how immensely blessed I am by my “struggle” and do not take a bit of it for-granted. I continue to stand in awe of those on the frontlines of this, working tirelessly to overcome it, and also of those who have truly been affected, but continue to have hope and spread kindness, despite the circumstances.
May 30, 2020
As it relates to our wedding, and that happy date in May we were so looking forward to, it will now all look much different than we had planned, and that’s okay. Actually, it’s more than okay, because I fully believe God orchestrated this story exactly as He intended it to be, and I am so excited to watch it unfold. Our Pastor has helped us to intentionally recreate our wedding in a way that is meaningful and still shares the sacredness of what a wedding signifies.
May 30, 2020 will not be just an ordinary day for Drew and I. It will be a day that we stand before the Lord and our closest family members to create a marriage covenant to one another. A marriage covenant created to model that of Christ, and His bride, the church.
Drew and I have prayed over this experience and how we should move forward, and we know and believe May 30th is the day we will unite as one to become husband and wife, forming a lifelong commitment and covenant to one another. In a lot of ways we are excited to remove all of the extra “stuff” often associated with a wedding, and truly focus our hearts and eyes on what it means to enter a marriage covenant together.
On this day, we invite you to pray for us and celebrate in spirit as two become one in an intimate and raw creation of a covenant.
However our wedding will not end here, but this day will mark the beginning of what is truly a 3 month wedding leading up to the final celebration of the covenant in August. What that story entails? We’re leaving that part of the story to God to write.
August 22, 2020
While August 22nd is a day that hasn’t been prayed over near as much as May 30th, it soon will be. What we do know, is it will be a joy-filled day of true celebration, and God-willing a day that we can share with all those we love. There will be a ceremony, a reception, vows, rings, dancing, flowers, photos and all those things that I often fall guilty to identifying as most significant to getting married. While I am so excited to see those things all come to life, I know it will pale in comparison to what the Lord has in-store for the creation and celebration of the covenant.
Sunday night I was catching up with one of my best girlfriends over the phone and she said something that hit me so hard saying, “Madison I know you wouldn’t have chosen this, but…” She’s so right. I never in a million years would have ever chosen this to be our wedding story, but I already have a feeling it will exceed any expectation or plan I had, because it is finally out of my imperfect control.
In closing, I’ll share this. A sweet fellow bride shared with me a bible study she did on the book of Job through the She Reads Truth app that gave her peace and comfort as they postponed their March wedding a couple weeks ago. I began that same study on Monday, and it spoke SO much truth on the topic of disappointment. I couldn’t not share it.
May we all strive to be more like Job and find divine privilege in every disappointment or struggle, no matter how big or how small it may be.
52 AND 136 days to go! 🙂
xx,
Madison
