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Months before I ever heard of COVID-19 or social distancing, my daughter Victoria and her fiancé Timothy Boesen planned an intimate, outdoor wedding. The space in my backyard where they chose to be married wasn’t the greenest patch of grass, but we worked with what we had.

We set up a border around the area, laid sod to level one area, seeded bare spots and watered daily. I spent my mornings praying and picking up sticks that had blown in overnight. I wasn’t about to have Victoria trip while walking down the aisle.

One morning I panicked when I spilled my cup of hot coffee on the grass. It might have been the same morning I discovered a hole that looked like it was made by an armadillo. I called to my husband, “Michael, I need a gun!”

“I’ll get you a pellet gun.”

“Don’t waste my time! Buy me a pistol!” While Michael never bought me a gun, I prayed, and never found another hole.

Then the ducks that I feed on one side of the yard migrated to the wedding side. I didn’t want them to eat the grass seed, so I spent a few mornings walking around in my pajamas picking up sticks and chasing ducks.

Before leading Timothy and Victoria in their wedding vows, I asked them to let that space be a picture for their marriage. May they set up boundaries to preserve the sanctity of their marriage.

If any bumpy spots are discovered, I hope they focus and fix them. If winds of adversity blow, together they need to remove the sticks, apologize for ill-spoken words and not leave anything that would cause them to trip.

May they sow seeds of kindness, forgiveness, gentleness, love and patience over the bare patches, and water daily with prayer. Those seeds will grow, and prayer will also keep the enemy away.

I hope they enjoy and appreciate every blessing from God – jobs, ministries, friends, hobbies, and one day, children. But I pray they keep their marriage first, and not let anything or anyone eat away at their relationship. Circumstances change, children grow and get married. May they keep all the little ducks in a row.

I pray they work together to tend the gift of marriage, and all the gifts that God has given them, and maximize those gifts to build His kingdom. May their lives reverberate and fill the earth with Divine echoes of a godly marriage.

Ronny Michel can be reached at rmichel@rtconline.com.