068: Marriage and Ministry

April 24, 2010
Psalm 45

“She won’t falter easy, she’ll be careful, she’ll be coy. Mmm. But still she paints her heart among the musings of a boy. Mmm. At the break of morning, the day awaits her as she sleeps. Mmm. Deep insider her dreams is all the beauty that she keeps…” - “If You Find Her” by Future of Forestry

My friend Hillary married what seems to be a cool guy named Jonathan today. I’m not particularly close to Hillary, we met on a trip in Morocco, but I always have felt very blessed by my interactions with her. She’s one of those women that I admire for her independence, her capabilities, her passion, her ambitions, and her heart for Jesus. She’s spent a good portion of the 2 years I’ve known her in Sudan and Kenya, changing the world one person at a time. That’s where she met Jonathan, and he pursued her pretty hardcore. They’ve had the challenge of long distance in their relationship, but they made it work, and Hillary got what she wanted: a man who respects and even needs her independent, capable spirit to minister cross-culturally.

I was sitting at the reception with my friend Lindsey, who is heading overseas herself here shortly, thinking about the conflicting desires of my heart: to marry and build a life with someone, and to go overseas and love on people. And then I realized that Hillary and Jonathan get both. They chose to marry someone who shares their love of loving a select people type. I think I want that for myself – a man who really, truly shares my passions and dreams of oversea life. And I’m ready, prepared, and acceptant of never having the marriage part if a guy who shares that passion doesn’t meet me.

I love how I can delight in my friends’ blessings and even live vicariously through them. Hillary and Jonathan, by every outward indication I have seen, seem to make a great pairing. I love that God does this – puts people together to serve Him – and that He allows us to witness it and be encouraged by it.

Congrats Hillary and Jonathan! May your marriage be a rich blessing to both of you, to the people around you, and to God as you love, honor, and respect Him!