Planning vs. Preparing

As I alluded to in my last post, life has suddenly become a delightful whirlwind of wedding planning, moving and preparing for marriage.  Lately, I’ve been struck by the difference between planning for the wedding (one day) and preparing for marriage (the rest of our lives).  In planning, we look for a location, make invitations, dress shop and scheme about flowers and colors.  Preparing, on the other hand, means lots of prayer, talking with other married people, reading books, pre-marital counseling, working out a budget and finding a place to live.  (In retrospect, deciding between sunflowers and Gerber daises for a one day event is pretty superficial when you’re also trying to learn how to be a wife.)

Our wedding day will be a pretty well pre-planned day.  We’ll eventually know who will be there, where it is and what time it starts.  Marriage, though…who knows about that.  Only God knows all the details of that future, and though we can plan for that all we want (where we live, when to have kids, etc.), it’s ultimately in His hands.  That’s why I’m glad we’re preparing for marriage while being careful to leave our plans in God’s hands, as He’s in control of the plans we make for our wedding day as well as preparing us for our marriage that follows.