Pave Your Trip to the Altar with Prayer

          More brides will walk down the aisle in June than any other month this year. The money spent on these celebrations will be part of the estimated 72 billion dollars spent annually on weddings. Long before the actual event, hours upon hours are devoted to making sure that every detail is planned and perfected. I’m not sure how much time is spent praying for the big day, but for me, years have been spent in prayer for my children’s spouses.

            Maybe that sounds odd, but even before they were born, I thanked God for ordaining their steps, including the ones that lead to marriage. In addition I prayed for their spouse, sight unseen, name unknown, and asked for God’s blessings on their lives as well.

            A year ago, my daughter, Elise, shared her list of qualifications for her future husband with me. He must exceed her in height and weight, be kind, and a good provider. In addition, she wants a man who will be a gentle and patient father to their children, and he must be able to pick her up.

            “To carry you over the threshold?” I asked.

            “No! In case we go to the beach for our honeymoon and I start to drown.”

            “But you can swim.”

            “Riptide. He must be able to pick me up and carry me to the shore.”

Elise is not the only person to ever write such a list. One teenager of American missionaries to China was sent to Korea for high school. Although she envisioned her life as a missionary to Tibet and an “old maid,” Ruth penned her qualifications for a spouse.

“If I marry, he must be so tall that when he is on his knees he reaches all the way to heaven. His shoulders must be broad enough to bear the burden of a family. His lips must be strong enough to smile, firm enough to say no, and tender enough to kiss. Love must be so deep that it takes its stand in Christ and so wide that it takes the whole lost world in. He must be active enough to save souls. He must be big enough to be gentle and great enough to be thoughtful. His arms must be strong enough to carry a little child.”

Ruth never became a full-time missionary to Tibet. Or an old maid. Instead she became the wife of Billy Graham and a missionary to the world.

Whether you’re in the midst of writing your own list for a spouse, in the planning stages of a wedding, or an innocent bystander, enjoy your journey. I hope it’s one you’ve paved with prayer.