I've been asked to give a devotion for a bridal shower on Saturday.
This devotion will be different than most of the ones I've done in the past because I am only writing notes, not writing out the whole devotion. I've wanted to try to present a devotion without reading every word. I am not good at organizing my thoughts in my head and then speaking them to a group of people, but I will never be good at it if I don't try, so that's why I'm trying. My fear is that I will begin babbling, with many disjointed thoughts that make sense to me but to no one else. I get nervous speaking in a large group of adults (I don't get nervous in front of children--only adults--go figure!).
I'm keeping the devotion simple; Scripture readings and some notes on how to apply them to a marriage. Simple is hard when it comes to talking about marriage; I want to include so much more than I have time to say. There are many directions one could take when speaking to a future wife about what it means to have a good marriage.
Today after finishing what I wanted to say, my husband gave me four main tenets of marriage as he sees it: love, respect (honor), communication, and sex. I've included love and respect in my presentation, but missed the other two, not because I don't agree with him, but because of my adherence to 'keep it simple'.
I could just imagine trying to talk about the importance of sex to a group of ladies! Definitely not a topic to speak about when one is learning how to speak from notes only!
My husband's quick list of what a happy marriage consists confirms that there are more topics to choose from in giving a bridal shower devotion than there is time to share them. Another topic formed in my mind when my husband gave me his list: the differences between men and women, especially in how we think. That could be its own devotion--how God has created us male and female to compliment/complete each other. Or a devotion on Biblical communication. Or on physical intimacy as a characteristic in marriage that makes the marriage relationship unique and different from any other human relationship. I could go on and on. I hope I don't go on and on tomorrow (a sure sign of rambling!).
Tomorrow my topic is living out your Christian walk in the Lord through your marriage: treating a husband as a beloved Christian and centering marriage on a relationship to the Lord Jesus so that as a wife grows in the Lord so will her marriage bear the fruit of that growth. A simple concept that takes a lifetime of practice. If marriages are based on God's Word and prayer, they can be fruitful.
I will read the summary of God's Law that Jesus gives us in Matthew, and I will read passages that show how Christians are to treat each other as they learn to serve and love the Lord. Nothing profound, just a reminder that as Christians our marriages should reflect first our love for Jesus. There will be a lot left unsaid, but hopefully everyone present will be able to relate to the promises and commands that God gives us in His Word, no matter if they are married or single, as long as they are Christians.
