We have officially been married for one month, and the past 30+ days have been nothing short of a rollercoaster ride filled with some of the best days of our lives, growth, learning, and so much love.
On May 30, 2020 we made a covenant to one another before our family, friends and the Lord, and over the past month we have experienced life together as newlyweds, relaxed and recharged while away on a mini-moon, moved into a new house, and have grown deeper and stronger in this commitment and covenant to one another.
But it doesn’t stop there.
As we continue this journey and prepare to come together with those we love so dearly to celebrate this covenant marriage in a wedding on August 22, we want to share an update with our guests and loved ones on the things God has been teaching us in these past few weeks. Our marriage story has taken an unprecedented and quite spontaneous turn, as this is certainly something we never could have imagined to be our story. However, we know the Lord is at work here, and it is exactly as He intended it to be. This unexpected turn will now be a story we cherish forever, share with our kids and grandkids, and will now be a new part of our testimonies as we reflect on the works of God during this time in our lives.
We understand that this piece of our story is a part of a bigger picture God is painting in our lives, and we want to be able to share the things we are learning and reflecting upon in this season of life and our journey.
Here is a brief update from each of our perspectives as we have reflected the past four weeks on our commitment to one another through our vows and wedding bands and the creation of this covenant marriage.
Madison
Genesis 2: 18-25 “The Lord God said, ‘it is not good for man to be alone. I will make a helper suitable for him'” thus, God created a companion for him.
Over the past four weeks as a newlywed wife, I have been reflecting on what it means to be that companion to my husband. I’ve gone back through our pre-marital counseling materials from our Pastor, Ken Pruitt, to revisit the seven expressions of Covenant that we have studied and prayed over in the months leading up to our marriage.
The Covenant of Companionship = the joy of togetherness, truly liking one another. I’m happy to report after roughly 35 days of living together and experiencing quarantine and working from home, we still like one another, and we think this marriage thing is gonna work out! I am kidding, but in all seriousness, the Lord has taken the first weeks of marriage to teach me things about Drew that I didn’t know before, and in that, teach me things about myself as a wife as well.
When we shared our vows on May 30, we vowed to seek that companionship on the pillars of biblical companionship. As Drew’s partner and companion, my greatest desire is to point him more toward Christ each day, and mutually as individuals to seek Christ first. I’m learning daily new things about his personality, and the ways in which I can best serve him as his wife.
In my notes from our studies with Pastor Ken as well as in my own personal bible study through the book of 1 Peter, I’ve been taking a closer look at true companionship and the act of submission. I’ve been greatly convicted reading about Sarah specifically, and her faithful submission to her husband, Abraham. Sarah was a beautiful representation of a holy woman that showed unique and unequivocal devotion to her husband. My prayer is to embrace and know every aspect of Drew’s heart and personality, so as his wife I can display that same submission and share his dreams and blessings by his side, but also to remain there through the challenges and heartaches, loving him unconditionally.
We have also as a couple reflected on the Covenant of Remembered Commitment, and the symbol, our wedding rings, we exchanged as gifts of that covenant. On our first full day of marriage we were sitting by the pool of the resort we stayed at for our mini-moon, and I was holding Drew’s hand in mine admiring the shiny gold band wrapped around his ring finger. A few minutes later a lady nearby stopped and asked if we had just gotten married and when we told her yes, her response was “I could just tell!”
While I’m aware that the first few days, weeks and months of marriage are always blissful and considered the “honeymoon” stage, my hope and prayer is that this challenge and covenant of remembered commitment will be a daily action that we intentionally work toward to embrace one another and the commitment we made, symbolized by our rings. I know we have so much more to learn and experience together, and in the months and years looking back on this update from a short few weeks together, I’ll see the change and work that God is doing in our lives and in our marriage.
Thank you to our dear family, friends, loved ones and guests who couldn’t be with us physically on May 30, but we hope to celebrate with come August. We want to invite you into this journey through these updates leading up to the celebration, and to see how our marriage is evolving through this journey. We love you!
Drew
We have been married just over a month now and I am so thankful we decided to go forward with our original wedding date of May 30th in a small ceremony, rather than postpone the whole thing like so many of our friends have had to do. We dated for about five and half years and we both knew that no matter what the circumstances, May 30th would be the day we finally said, “I do”.
In this short amount of time we have both grown so much as a married couple (being quarantined together for two weeks can really bring out all the good and bad in each other). We have learned to listen more, be slow to anger, and try to understand how the other may be feeling and reacting to things. We know marriage, like any great thing, takes time and effort to make it work, and we are committed to trying to make the other better each day.
We know that with this second wave of the virus comes more challenges and difficult decisions that will have to be made, but we are trusting in the Lord and His plan for it all. We look forward to being able to celebrate with everyone next month and appreciate your continued love and prayers!
