The Persistence of Love
Sarah and I celebrated our wedding anniversary this week and as I reflected on all the ways we have grown together over almost a decade and a half it is mind boggling to recall the multitude of experiences, events, changes, and chapters we have shared. Neither of us are the same people we were when we got married and yet the continuity of our story is persistent. Everything seems to logically have led to where we are today. Most changes were unexpected, and most were better than we could have chosen for ourselves. To God be the glory!
Every demarcation of time, especially the long-term ones like birthdays and anniversaries, bring cause for reflection. Am I the same person I was when I went to seminary 20 years ago? Definitely not and certainly so. Was God’s presence to me as a child, as I got married, as I began to work, as a parent, etc. the same way God is present to me in this moment? I believe so. God is always perfectly present to us. How we understand God’s presence, love, and grace changes, but those changes are in us, not in God.
I am comforted by this because how I grew in my relationship with God as a child is still a part of my experience of God’s love and care. The way that I have grown in my knowledge and understanding of God’s grace is a part of the faith journey that began so long ago. Further, this is certainly how God knows us. God knows us completely with every stage and development loved and celebrated. God is steadfast in that love and always will be. This is hopefully a helpful thing to ponder in a period when the world seems to be changing. To know that the God we have worshiped together for years is the same God we will worship for years to come hopefully offers us the comfort of continuity. In the completion of our time, through the resurrection of Jesus, we are also promised the continuity of God’s love in perpetuity beyond the stages of this life.
I once heard that in the course of a marriage you will be married to approximately 7 versions of your spouse. I actually think it’s more. I have surely been at least that many versions of myself today as I moved through experiences, moods, and moments! Through it all, God is with every one of us. May this bring us hope and rest.
We love you and God loves you.