A Wedding Toast

Our friend Chuck Tryon, a sculptor and missionary with Operation Mobilization, recently gave a toast at the wedding reception of his son and new daughter-in-law.  Although his words speak volumes to newly-weds, they also have meaning for all of us.  So often we cling to trying to control our futures rather than letting God bring about the future that He wants us to have.

Chuck has graciously offered to share with us the words from his wedding toast:

 

Some time ago, as I was pondering the familiar passage in Ecclesiastes 3 which begins, “To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven,” the Lord gave me a picture.

I was standing at the edge of a tall cliff, looking out into darkness.  However, the sun was rising, and the darkness me began to fade. I slowly began to seedetails below me. I was looking out into a vast valley. All across the valley, I began to see hills and depressions, forests and fields, clearings and dense bogs. After a while I began to see buildings – houses, taller buildings, little towns and tightly packed cities, rundown shacks and fancy mansions.

Then I noticed that the entire valley was covered with pathways. Some of them were narrow little paths, but others were broad roads. They meandered all through the valley, passing through towns and fields. Sometimes they were rough and steep, or tangled with the roots of trees, almost disappearing under the darkness of the deep forests or through deep rifts between jagged rocks. Other paths crossed high hills or gentle fields bathed in sunlight. Often the paths would cross over each other, or sometimes two paths would join and become one.  Other paths would split, with each branch going off in its own direction.

Then I saw the people. All over the valley, the pathways were covered with people walking along the paths. Some were by themselves but others walked in twos or small groups. What struck me though was the fact that each and every person was walking along the path backwards. They could see what was behind them and what was immediately around them, but each one walked along his or her path with no idea of what was ahead of them.

Then the Lord revealed the meaning behind the picture. I was seeing time as He sees it – all at once. A time and a season for everything. He sees the beginning and the end of all the paths all at once.

However, as we walk through time, we can see where we have come from, but we can only guess at where our path will take us. Our paths may cross other people’s paths, and we may walk along together for a time. We make our plans and try to control our lives, but the reality is that we really don’t have a lot to say about where our paths take us.  However, God sees the end from the beginning.

Today the two of you are standing at the top of a hill, looking back on the paths which have brought you to this point. They have come from different places, and they have wound around through high places and low, through through light and dark places. A little while ago, your two paths came up next to each other and ran in parallel for a while. Today, those two paths have become one, and you’re about to take those first steps back down over the other side of
the hill. You’ve got some good guesses about what the path looks like, but you’re not sure.  However, you know the One who not only sees the path, but who has laid it out for you.
I want to make this toast as a blessing over the two of you as you start this path together.  I don’t ask for a path which will always be smooth, because I know it won’t be.

However, I pray that the two of you will walk well together. When one stumbles over a root, may the other one always be there to pick you up again.

When the storms come and the way is dark, may you both be an encouragement and a light to one another, and when the way is bright and clear, may you both be there to share the wonder of Christ’s Grace and Love.

May you have Peace and Joy along the way. May your lives always reflect the Light of Jesus and be a source of Encouragement to others whose paths cross yours.

May you be Wise as you consider the places you have walked through, and wise Guides along the path, leading others to the Truth of Christ.

May you always have a keen sense of Jesus walking with you on the path, just a step ahead of you.