Written the day after my daughter’s wedding.

What is marriage?

Is it a record of property duly
Signed and sealed by stroke of dreary pen
So lawyers and judges can argue
Over who owns what

Or a walled garden within which
A family can grow and thrive
In the sun protected from
The fierce winds of society

Is it companionship walking
The Path of Life, two as one
Helping each other over
The stiles and through
The thickets and alongside
The peaceful streams

Could it be a sanctuary for love
Of mutual fascination and exploration
And closeness and raw nakedness
And risk
Of bodies freely given and
Trust held in fragile vessels
Of humanity

What if it was a reflection?
A reflection of Christ’s love
For his people and
His people’s love of Him
Sacrificial
Joyful
All consuming
Life giving

All this and more
Is found in the
Binding of two souls
What God has brought together
Let not man break asunder