On August 3, 2012 we climbed a hill in Scotland, under the ceiling of God's greatest cathedral, to commit ourselves to each other.
This blog is the story of our love and our wedding. Most people do not realize that the ministers of the sacrament of marriage are the spouses themselves. The spouses are the ministers of the sacrament of marriage because the mark—the external sign—of the sacrament is not the wedding ceremony or anything the priest/pastor might do, but the marriage contract itself. The "marriage contract" does not mean the wedding license that the couple receives from the state, but the vows that each spouse makes to the other. As long as each spouse intends to contract a true marriage, the sacrament is performed. The effect of the sacrament is an increase in sanctifying grace for the spouses, a participation in the divine life of God Himself.
In this way, sacramental marriage is more than a union of a man and a woman; it is, in fact, a type and symbol of the divine union between Christ, the Bridegroom, and His Church, the Bride. As married Christians, open to the creation of new life and committed to our mutual salvation, we participate not only in God's creative act but in the redemptive act of Christ.
This morning, a year later, we woke to the hungry stirring of our baby daughter Aisling Jane, in her bed at our feet.
The past year has been frequently challenging, sometimes boring, often rewarding, but definitely just another piece of our adventure together! So many blessings to enjoy and be thankful for.
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| Doug, Sandi, and Aisling at Paulina Lake in Oregon in late July, 2013 |
