Our grandson Jake got married to Richie in Phoenix on June 20, the first of our five grandsons to get married. Getting to know Richie and gaining a granddaughter has been delightful! Their wedding was beautiful and wonderful. The only thing missing was Nanci. ♥️♥️♥️
However, I believe Scripture suggests our loved ones now in Heaven are sometimes witnessing, in at least some capacity, God’s unfolding plan on Earth. My own mom died just four months after our Angie, Jake’s mom, was born. Nanci and I believed that at both our daughters’ weddings, in the summer of 2001, the girls’ two grandmothers were watching from Heaven. And since Nanci’s mom had been blind her last few years here, she was seeing the wedding in a way she couldn’t have even before she died. Now 24 years later, I truly believe God gave Nanci a front-row seat to her own grandson’s wedding. 🙏❤️🎉
Jake’s brother Ty, Jake, Richie, Nanci’s and my daughter Angie, and her husband Dan Stump:
The pronouncement of marriage, by Pastor Costi Hinn:
Here’s Jake dancing with his mom, our daughter Angela. She was so happy for her son, I don’t think she stopped smiling the entire day!
A few days ago Jake and I talked on the phone about the wedding and honeymoon. Richie, who calls me “Pops” as Jake does, joined the conversation. It was wonderful to hear the joy in their voices. Of course they know, as we all should, that life is challenging and a good marriage takes hard work. It certainly did for Nanci and me. The best things in life, including marriage and parenting, aren’t easy, but when we draw on the empowering grace and truth of Jesus, they become incredibly rewarding.
At the wedding I spent some great time with our daughter Karina, her husband Dan Franklin, and their boys Matt, Jack, and David. Angie and I had lunch together after returning home from the wedding in Phoenix. We talked about the sheer happiness of the day with Jake and Richie and family and friends. Then we talked about how much we both missed Nanci. Both of us cried, but that’s how it should be. “We are sorrowful, yet always rejoicing” (2 Corinthians 6:10). The only way to avoid grief is to avoid love. And to avoid love is to avoid the best part of being alive.
Sorrow is real but in no way did it eclipse the joy of Jake and Richie’s wedding. Resurrection and eternal life await—Angela, Karina and our sons-in-law and grandchildren and friends who love Jesus will one day be with Jesus and each other forever. Nanci and Richie haven’t met each other yet but they certainly will. And knowing both of them, I guarantee they will adore each other!
I thank God for the 54 years of friendship and 47 years of marriage He gave me and Nanci. I am profoundly grateful that in our final years of marriage, as we loved and trusted and cherished each other more than we ever had.
This is wedding season, and I'm sure many of you will also be going to weddings over the next few months. If you're married, be sure to use this opportunity to think in terms of cultivating and preserving your marriage. If you're not married, do what you can to support the sanctity of marriage and uphold the importance of this sacred gift and trust God has imparted to humanity.
For those with children, let me remind you that the best two gifts you can give them is that you love the Lord with all your heart, and that you love each other unreservedly. They will find security in your love. And as important as raising children is, remember too that it was your wife or husband with whom you exchanged vows. Children are entrusted to us for perhaps twenty years, what may be a third or fourth of our lives. By God's grace, some of us will be married to our spouses for fifty years or more.
Don't make your family all about your children’s activities. Love, honor, and serve your husband or wife. Carve out time for them. Go out for dates. Do dinner and a movie. Go out of town together. Put Christ in the center of your life and conversation. Thank Him together for His goodness and kindness, not only for the big things, but also for His small daily provisions of common grace.
In a culture that glorifies selfishness and immorality, cultivate and preserve your marriage. God will be honored, and your children and grandchildren will be grateful. And people will see a signpost that points to Christ's love for His bride (Ephesians 5).
I thank God for Nanci, my partner in the great adventure God laid out for us. And now as Jake and Ritchie begin their life together, I pray they would look to Jesus every day as their Savior, Redeemer, and ever-present Friend.
Some marriage advice for everyone:
“If any of you lacks wisdom, ask God...” James 1:5
“Don’t let the sun go down while you’re still angry.” Ephesians 4:26
“I have learned to be content...” Philippians 4:11
“Carry each other’s burdens...” Galatians 6:2
“Above all, love each other deeply...” 1 Peter 4:8
Speaking of the challenges and joys of marriage, I was touched by this video from our friend Joni Eareckson Tada, celebrating her and Ken’s 43rd wedding anniversary. This is a couple who has leaned hard on Jesus:
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