Our Children's Spouses

The older our son becomes, the more I wonder what his wife will be like. I always thought I'd wonder about things like, what she looks like, what she does for a living, etc. Instead, what I find myself concerned about, praying about, is that he marry a godly woman.

My mother married a man who was basically a pagan. He had not been involved in any church for years. He attended services with her for years before deciding to join our congregation. Mom was thrilled. Years later, I discussed this with her. She told me that it was important to "be on the same page" with your spouse, especially when children enter the picture.

As a parent, I understand her words more than I did as a teen. And I think how God told the Israelites to marry within their people...not to be rascist, not to be snobbish...but to preserve their faith. By marrying people who believed in false gods, the Israelites risked losing their faith and adopting that of the pagans. Today, I've seen children pulled in various directions by parents who have different faiths. How do the children view this? Is Dad right, or does Mom really know what's good for me? Why do they not agree? Perhaps neither is right...it's so tragic.

So now I'm praying that our son find a Christian woman, a woman who will be the mother of children raised in the Christian faith. And whereas in earlier days, there were quite a few around, today they seem to be fewer in number. Recently, however, our son brought tears to my eyes when he indicated how important it is to him to marry a Christian girl. Wow! To know that he's thinking about such things....who'd have thought it? Thanks be to God!