The Constant

A year ago today, Rob and Ayla got engaged at sunset on the Grand Strand in Garden City Beach, S.C. This place has a special significance to our family because we have spent many vacations there. My mother's best friend, Carole Filtz, owns the condo, and we've been blessed to stay there, explore the area thoroughly and make memories to last a lifetime. For Rob to select this location to propose to our daughter and add just one more precious memory to this place - where Brad and I spent our honeymoon - is endearing to us. When Rob and Ayla were selecting a wedding date that would work around their culinary schedules and the heavy tourist seasons of Florida, October was one option. The fact that they selected our wedding anniversary for their wedding date again brought us so much joy and honor. But I remember Ayla commenting how far away October seemed. I said to her, "It will fly by, you'll see." Now we are less than four months away and it has certainly flown by. And we are saying the same thing to our son lamenting the fact that his wedding date is just under a year away.

This has been quite a year for Rob and Ayla. Both with a new job or promotion, car problems, a residence change, loss of a loved one, new adventures and discoveries, bumps in the spiritual road and growth as well, new achievements, new friends and lots and lots of planning. And they have exciting adventures ahead with their marriage, honeymoon and new residence together. It is amazing what can happen in one orbit around the sun. When I look back in old photo albums, it amazes me all the wonderful things we have seen, experienced and enjoyed. Even the challenging, scary and sad events have grown us each year. Praising God amidst all change and the passage of time, that we - like the constant of having a familiar condo vacation spot each year to return to - have one particular Constant forever in our lives, and that is Christ.

He doesn't change. He doesn't leave us. He loves, listens, forgives and guides us. Hebrews 13:8 says, "Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever," and Psalm 62:7 says,"In God is my salvation and my glory: the rock of my strength, and my refuge, is in God." How blessed we are to know that each and every day we have our Father in heaven, our Savior Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit as a constant. Praise His name!

We congratulate Rob and Ayla on the anniversary of their engagement and get more and more excited each day as we get closer to your wedding. May you each be a precious constant to one another throughout your earthly lives! God bless you both, the days leading up to your nuptials, the wedding, reception, honeymoon and your marriage!

Discussion: Share a specific memory of this past year? How has it changed or grown you? What advice would you have for couples with long engagements? How has God shown He is a Constant in your life?

Prayer: Father God, we thank You for what you accomplish in us each year. We thank You for this time of preparation for Rob and Ayla, Anton and Kayla and all engaged couples as they prepare for a lifetime of loving each other. May they, Father, always rest assured that You are there with them. We love you so much. In Jesus, Amen.

Unchanging Constant

Anton and I rearranged the man cave two days ago. In order to give Daddy a bit of privacy office wise in Anton's bedroom, we moved Tone's TV and game console into the man cave. This require a complete in the room's dynamics. We switched around the furniture, books, tiny stadiums, pictures and the like to make the most of the space. Anton was nervous about the completed room. He was nervous because he knows his Dad hates change and he was worried about how he would react. He asked me if I would send him a picture of the changes to Dad's cell phone so that he would be prepared. My initial reaction was "no," but I decided to sent him two pictures anyways. His reaction: "Just as long as I can see the hummingbirds out the window." Not what either of us expected.

Brad does not like change. Don't change the furniture, don't change the routine, don't change his closet, move his books ... you get the idea. I proceed with caution when I make any changes, like rearranging rooms. He usually fusses for the whole first day, then realizes I've made good changes and gets in the swing of it. Just don't change it again.

While he's quirky in his desire to keep things the same, it is truly a blessing with regards to our marriage. He doesn't like change. He wants to keep me. And he brings that up any time I mention his frustration with any changes I make. But I do find comfort in his desire to stick with me in this spiritual journey called marriage, especially since so many folks give up on it. There are people all the time looking for the next best thing ... or trading in for a younger, prettier model. Thankfully, Brad likes this worn-in classic. He asks me all the time "Will you marry me?" and tells me how much he loves me all the time.

When Tone and I were driving yesterday back from the movie theater I said to him, "I love your fiance. Don't forget to tell her every single day how much you love her. Your Daddy does that for me, and it means the world to me." He said he has "Tell Kayla you love her" on a list of daily things to do. That is a beautiful thing.

So go ahead and change around the furniture. Get the latest and greatest technology. Try new things. But be uplifted in knowing you have this one unchanging, forever constant ... your marriage.

Discussion: How do you feel about change? How can you make your marriage fresh and new?

Prayer: Father we thank You that You are the same yesterday, today and tomorrow. That gives us a foundation we can trust. We pray the foundation of our marriages are likewise something we can trust in. In Jesus we pray, Amen.