I sit looking out the hotel window at the mountains, rising like majestic sentinels reflected downward on the still lake. I ponder the 6 years of marriage this getaway commemorates and marvel at the difference from when we vowed with idealistic gaze, to love each other through thick and thin.
We have loved each other through hell and back, and are building something far richer than those rose coloured wedding glasses could ever calibrate. As I watch the glistening mirror of the peaks answer back from the water, I am reminded of reflections God created for us to learn from.
Our covenant reflects the covenant between Jesus and His bride, and we are each to reflect the image of Christ Himself.
So we who have had the veil removed can see and reflect the glory of the Lord. And the Lord makes us more and more like Him as we are changed into His glorious image. (2 Corinthians 3:18) Our marriage has not been without tumult, nor have the years that have passed, but as thankfulness fills my heart today, I realize something profound: One of the main ways I knew Jesus still loved and remembered me through the long years of sickness and suffering was the day by day steadfast faithfulness of my beloved David.
As years went by and the stormy gales did their chiseling work, I saw the image of Jesus in my Beloved more every day. I pray the same can be said of me.
Psalm 25:10 says:
The Lord leads with unfailing love and faithfulness all who keep His covenant and obey His commands.
As Jesus led us faithfully through the sinister labyrinth of Lyme Disease, the covenants we made strengthened in depth. I can only imagine how difficult it was for my Love; the strain of keeping his wife alive moment by moment, juggling all that needed doing under the heavy weight of an uncertain future, overshadowed constantly by pain. Many men have walked away under less pressure.
Yet now, 6 years later should you ask me to describe my Love, the first words that come to mind are “steadfast love and faithfulness.” The image of the One he loves has been chiseled more deeply in his character until the reflection is clear, unmistakable and beautiful.
The reflection in the water, as beautiful as it is serves to lift the eyes to the mountains that instilled the reflection. I look at my life and ask myself what I reflect. Sometimes I see hardness and disillusionment born of weariness and long deferred hope. Sometimes I see cascades of grace that flood life with greater compassion. As I look at my Beloved, it renews my desire to reflect Jesus, knowing sometimes the only image of Jesus people in pain can see is the one we reflect.
What aspect of Jesus do you most naturally reflect? What aspects do you want people to see more clearly? How is Jesus working in your life to wear away the things that mar His reflection in you?
by kherlapeters@gmail.com