I Want My Sense Of Awe Back

I’ve gained weight since I got married and my finger is too fat for my wedding ring. (“Sympathy weight” from four pregnancies??) Well, now I wear one of those plastic / rubber rings from Amazon.

There are many legit reasons not to wear expensive jewelry in healthcare, like body fluids getting caked in them, but it makes you wonder about our attitude toward marriage, as a culture.

Not long ago, to get married, one had to invoke the name of God Almighty, and we knew we’d give account of our fidelity at the Final Judgment. It wasn’t matrimony. It was holy matrimony and it was sacred. People generally stayed married because “What therefore God has joined together, let not man separate,” unless one’s spouse committed adultery.

Marriage was worthy of an expensive ring made of precious metal. Now the plastic wedding bands we wear and the vows themselves can seem disposable.

I must confess my attitude about marriage has been dragged down by the prevailing winds of society. The first time someone said, “If you do me a small favor I’ll dance at your next wedding,” I was appalled. Now I chuckle. I don’t like that.

Most people reading this have experienced divorce personally or been profoundly affected by it, myself included. I’m not judging anyone’s personal circumstances, just wondering how we as a society view the institution of marriage.

If matrimony is sacred, if the joining of man and wife is mainly something God does, not humans, I want a healthy sense of reverence again. I want my sense of awe back.