Part 4

“On our landing, pull both handles down quickly and the as soon as our feet hit the ground, run as fast as you can.”  “Roger that,” I replied to the retired Navy Seal still strapped to my back.  Well it was hilarious…I pulled the handles, ran as fast as we could and we both lost every cool point we had earned over the past 5 minutes.  We fell and rolled for what seemed like a long time…but we were on the ground safely.

In marriage, things do not always go as planned.  When things go bad, you have to learn to roll with it together.  The temptation will always be to be to attack each other when problems arise, but you should attack the problem together.  And then be able to celebrate together when that mission is accomplished.  Marriage is not easy.  Marriage is work.  Marriage is taking risks.  Marriage is tough.  Marriage is fun.  Marriage is a rush.  Marriage is two lives becoming one and moving in the same direction.  There will be arguments and your spouse will learn your buttons and will push them at times.  In the end you both have to agree to make things work and not just thrive but survive.

What do you think would have been the results if I had jumped out of that airplane one my own?  Well I would be dead.  The retired Navy Seal had made hundreds of jumps, in combat situations.  He knew how to read the altimeter, how to open the parachute, how to cut away and open the emergency chute.  He had been there and done that.  Oh yeah, he had the parachute on his back and I was strapped to him.  I would have plunged to my death on my own.  Like I said before, my personal space was violated and It was uncomfortable, but it was necessary.

Before you get married, get close to God.  It can not be any simpler.  You should be in a Bible study, you should be around Christian friends, and you should be serving in some ministry somewhere.  If you are not close to God your marriage will suffer.  If you go into marriage or are in a marriage without the Lord it is like jumping out of a plane without a parachute.  It will be exciting for a little while, but the landing will not go well.

As young couples date and go through engagement, often times they mistake their euphoric feelings for one another as some sort of spiritual confirmation from God.  To say that another way, they are so happy in love that they think the feelings they have are coming from God, but they are not.  To say it even another way, “They are getting high on their own supply.”  It won’t last.  A relationship with God is crucial to a happy and successful marriage.

1. On a scale from 1 to 5, how important is your relationship with God?

2.  What is the evidence of your answer to number 1?

(in a bible study, committed to a church, serve in ministry, daily devotion, prayer, Christian friends…)

3.  What kind of relationship with God do you expect your spouse to have?

4.  Feelings aside, how much do you love your boyfriend/girlfriend?

Part 3

…Green GO! GO! GO!  What a rush.  Whoops, Hollars, and yelps as we all run full force out of a perfectly good airplane.   Adrenaline is pumping as the drone chute leaves my hand to give some control a little below terminal velocity.  It’s is like flying.  The ground is so far away, it does not seem you will reach it.  It is loud, stick your head out of a car doing 120mph…that is the sound, well besides my own high pitched frenzy.  There is nothing like 60 seconds of free fall.  “Pull the Chord!” There is a loud distinctive snapping sound of the chute opening, and then I am jerked up in the air instantly with such ferocity that every undergarment i am wearing is now in the wrong place.  And it is instantly …..silent… So quiet so peaceful, not only physically but emotionally, “I did it, and looks like I am going to live.”  There are 4 minutes of air time to the ground.  What a view, what a feeling, what an experience.

Getting married so exciting.  It’s fun. It is an experience like none other.  It can be such a rush of enthusiasm and adrenaline and the next second being so content hugging or kissing the one you love.  You will have a great sense of accomplishment.  You did it, you really did it and now here you are experiencing loving someone and being loved, the basis of human need.  What some describe as bliss you now experience with that person whom you have decided to spend the rest of your life with.

What I have described above are moments.  And hopefully they are frequent and typical.  But they are not always.  There is nothing wrong with that.  Once you get through a few rough spots, you will realize that you both can do this.  This is real and it is wonderful and it was worth the risk.

1. On a scale from 1 to 5, how much do you desire to be with another person in marriage?
2. What is the one thing you look forward to the most when you are married?
3. What risks is someone taking when they marry you?

Part 2

Upon arrival at the airfield, we parked our motorcycles, signed some paperwork, and sat in metal folding chairs.   We heard the nostalgic click of a VHS tape being seated in the bottom of the player.  We then proceeded to watch 30 minutes of short video clips, on the wall in front of us, of an uncomfortable subject matter. We watched chutes that didn’t open, people crashing to the ground, people crashing into trees and all kinds of other unfortunate outcomes.  Then the same lady who took my signature stepped to the front of the class and said, “If you are having any reservations or are scared, the time to get out is now before we take off.”  Have you ever heard it said, “It’s all fun and games till somebody gets hurt?”  Well that is the case in skydiving and marriage.

A commitment to another person for life is SERIOUS.  Whether you want to believe it or not, your marriage will effect a lot of people.  It is a Covenant not a Contract.  It effects you, your spouse, your family, your spouse’s family, both sets of friends, your church and many others.  More than that, you and your spouse coming together in the eyes of God makes you one.  Mark 10:7-9, …7“FOR THIS REASON A MAN SHALL LEAVE HIS FATHER AND MOTHER, 8AND THE TWO SHALL BECOME ONE FLESH; so they are no longer two, but one flesh. 9“What therefore God has joined together, let no man separate.”  I can not think of anything more serious than that, other than your decision to follow Christ.  If you are thinking about getting married, congratulations!  Remember to count the cost because this is serious business.

1. If you are a man, are you ready to lead another person spiritually?

2.  If you are a woman, how do you interpret that the man is the leader of the home?

But I want you to understand that Christ is the head of every man, and the man is the head of a woman, and God is the head of Christ (1 Corinthians 11:3).

3.  Are you willing to give every part of yourself to another person?