Still Breathless with Wonder

By John A. Carroll

This week Mary and I hit a milestone—fifty years of marriage as of Saturday June 5. Obviously, we are excited to reach this point in our long life together. I am taking a two week break from writing my usual blog post, but I will give you our reading schedule for the next two weeks. You can find the schedule for June 4-17 below.

Meanwhile, I would like to share with you the prayer by Dr. Lewis Evans that was read at our wedding and has been an inspiration to us over the years.

A Wedding Prayer by Dr. Lewis Evans

O God of love, You have established marriage for the welfare and happiness of mankind. It was Your plan and only with You can we work it out with joy. You have said, “It is not good for Man to be alone. I will make a helper fit for him.” Now our joys are doubled since the happiness of one is the happiness of the other. Our burdens are halved since when we share them we divide the load.

Bless this husband. Bless him as provider of nourishment and shelter. Sustain him in all the demands and pressures of his battle for bread. May his strength be her protection, his character be her boast and her pride, and may he so live that she will find in him the haven for which the heart of a woman truly longs.

Bless this loving wife. Give her a tenderness that will make her great, a deep sense of understanding and a great faith in You. Give her that inner beauty of soul that never fades, that eternal youth that is found in holding fast the things that never age.

Teach them that marriage is not living merely for each other; it is two uniting and joining hands to serve You. Give them a great spiritual purpose in life. May they seek first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness, and the other things shall be added unto them.

May they not expect that perfection of each other that belongs alone to You. May they minimize each other’s weaknesses, be swift to praise and magnify each other’s points of beauty and strength, and see each other through a lover’s kind and patient eyes.

Now make such assignments to them on the scroll of Your will as will bless them and develop their characters as they walk together. Give them enough tears to keep them tender, enough hurts to keep them humble, enough of failure to keep their hands clenched tightly in Yours, and enough of success to make them sure they walk with God.

May they never take each other for granted, but always experience that breathless wonder that exclaims, “Out of all this world you have chosen me!”

When life is done and the sun is setting, may they be found then as now still hand in hand, still thanking God for each other. May they serve You happily, faithfully together until at last one shall lay the other in the arms of God.

This we ask through Jesus Christ, great lover of our souls. Amen.

We believe God has answered this prayer as we have walked these five decades together. He has grown us in many ways, through tears and hurts, failures and successes. And yes, we still experience that breathless wonder that exclaims, “Out of all this world you have chosen me!” In these sunset years of life, we anticipate changes as we pray that God will let us “get home before dark” as Robertson McQuilkin famously said.

Until then, we will try to share some of our gleanings from Thistle Dew Farm here on this blogsite. I will be back here again on June 18.

Weeks 23 & 24 June 4-17, 2021

June 4/Day 155 Who Me? God’s Fellow Worker? (II Chronicles 13-16; John 14) Audio here. June 5/Day 156 Dangerous Alliances with God-Haters (II Chronicles 17-19; John 15) Audio here. June 6/Day 157 The Army that Self-Destructed (II Chronicles 20-22; John 16:1-15) Audio here. June 7/Day 158 Forgiveness for the Fickle (II Chronicles 23-25; John 16:16-33) Audio here. June 8/Day 159 Means of Grace in a Hostile Place (II Chronicles 26-28; John 17) Audio here. June 9/Day 160 What to do When Obedience Brings Ridicule (II Chronicles 29-31; John 18:1-23) Audio here. June 10/Day 161 A Basis for Confidence (II Chronicles 32-33; John 18:24-40) Audio here. June 11/Day 162 Fleeing to Satan? Really? (II Chronicles 34-36; John 19:1-22) Audio here. June 12/Day 163 God’s Sovereignty in Human History (Ezra 1-2; John 19:23-42) Audio here. June 13/Day 164 Life in Christ: More than a Temple (Ezra 3-5; John 20) Audio here. June 14/Day 165 Following Christ Without Distraction (Ezra 6-8; John 21) Audio here. June 15/Day 166 To the End of the Earth (Ezra 9-10; Acts 1) Audio here. June 16/Day 167 Emotional Engagement (Nehemiah 1-3; Acts 2:1-13) Audio here. June 17/Day 168 Generosity and Contentment: How We Know We’re Saved (Nehemiah 4-6; Acts 2:14-47) Audio here.

If you do not have my book Concealed and Revealed (on which this schedule is based) you can order it here. Audio recordings are being provided by Pastor Charlie Evans of Grace Church, Roanoke, VA.