I like the ride.

This last Sunday I was blessed by a sermon I heard during service at Otter Creek. We have been exploring The Sermon on the Mount, and it has been an eye opening and refreshing experience. Josh, the preacher, doesn't steer away from tough subjects like divorce.

He first addressed the abusive misinterpretation certain scripture used to create a legalistic code against divorce. I was surprised to hear that there are people who actually believe that divorce is an ultimate sin. Clearly, there is no logic in that, nor is that idea remotely supported by scripture.

On Josh's blog he makes the point the legalistic loopholes are not Jesus' way....

I believe and am confident that God does not want couples and individuals staying in marriages that are full of physical and verbal abuse.  A marriage is made up of two completely broken people making a covenant to each other to become partners in life, a life that consists of mutual respect, patience, grace, and love. It is inevitable that sometimes relationships crumble beyond repair, and bring nothing but grief. I believe in the grace of God, and that when trusted, he will either bring conciliation to the pair as a couple, or if parted, a healing to each.

My favorite part of the sermon that resonated most with me and where I am at right now, was when he said that "Marriage is a witness to God's love for us". I must say, my marriage with Logan is really the most beautiful thing I've ever known. I didn't know that such an intimate companionship was possible.

Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God. Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love. --1 John 4:7-8

But through it, I understand my relationship with God so much better. If he can bless two broken, selfish people with such a love, imagine what He Himself can offer. Logan and I are blessed to be where we are at right now, and like a spiritual high, it is the commitment, practice, and deep love that pulls us through the trenches of doubt, loneliness, and insecurity. We will all combat those feelings reguardless of whether we are married, single, or divorced...it is how we battle it and who we lean on that matters.


A Time for Everything
There is a time for everything,
and a season for every activity under the heavens:
a time to be born and a time to die,
a time to plant and a time to uproot,
a time to kill and a time to heal,
a time to tear down and a time to build,
a time to weep and a time to laugh,
a time to mourn and a time to dance....
--Ecclesiastes 3


Life is made up of a combination of "times", and that is what makes it beautiful.