Ice Dancing Four

    The arena was filled with excited guests who had come from near and far to the spectacular and very special wedding of David and Alicia, a well-known ice dancing pair. It was an electric evening. The wedding party was on the ice in beautiful light reflecting attire as the ceremony began.

    The minister's text was Ephesians, chapter 5:21-33, which gives a pattern for a successful marital relationship. "The bride and groom," he said in preface, "have chosen this setting for their wedding because they believe that ice dancing is a beautiful metaphor of God's pattern for marriage. A couple must come together in agreement with His pattern in order to have a wonderful marriage. There must be one leader, yet they are a team. The leader is not to dictate, but as he embraces her in the arms of love, she will come alongside him. As both partners submit to the leading of the Lord and His teachings, their love and respect for each other will blossom and they will flow together in harmony and mutual cooperation."

    "In ice dancing as in marriage, one must exercise discipline and self denial. In both, each must learn to lay down their independence for the beauty of the dance. The more they practice this, the greater will be the ease with which it will flow. A precious binding of their hearts will occur and the rewards will be rich and sweet."

    "As our Scripture says, 'The love a man gives his wife is the extending of his love for himself to enfold her.' '...let everyone of you who is a husband love his wife as he loves himself, and let every wife respect her husband'" (Phillips Translation). He continued, "The love that begins with much emotion will deepen with the years and the result will be a great depth of union and unparalleled companionship. They will truly be one."

    When the ceremony concluded, the bride and groom beautifully demonstrated the minister's theme by dancing on the ice to the haunting music of "The Wedding Song,"

"...As it was in the beginning, is now and till the end. Woman draws her life from man and gives it back again. And there is love. There is love." *

    Perhaps your marriage is not according to the pattern above. The first step toward making it so is to know the One who made the pattern. Next, you must take your focus off the faults of your spouse and tell God that YOU are turning from YOUR own way and ask Him to make you and your marriage what He desires.

*The Wedding Song, by Noel Paul Stookey

Copyright Daphne Harrington 1999