We were driving in traffic this past week and a song came onto the Pandora station we were listening to. It was one I hadn’t heard for years. Twenty-nine years to be exact. The song, “I Will Be There.”
When I heard the song, it took me back. I thought about the young bride–my daughter, Erika, and the groom, Trent, as they said their wedding vows to each other and to God. They had no idea what their life together would be like, but they promised they would “be there” for each other.
God, the best maker of all marriages, combine your hearts in one (William Shakespeare, Henry V).
The song reminded me of the passage of time. I was in my forties when I first heard that song, I’m now in my seventies.

I contemplated  who was at that candlelit evening ceremony. Many are now gone. That’s why hearing that song heard so long ago brought me to tears. Time is passing and we can’t stop the clock, but we can redeem the time we have before us:

Live life, then, with a due sense of responsibility, not as men who do not know the meaning and purpose of life but as those who do (Ephesians 5: 15, PHILLIPS).

Realistically, there is only one person who will truly “be there” in anyone’s life forever. The words in the vow remind us of that “’til death do us part.” Yet our Lord promises to “never leave or forsake us” (Hebrews 13:5). Jesus said, “I will not leave you as orphans,” (John 14: 18) and “The Lord is on my side as my helper” (Psalm 118: 7).
I hope you enjoy the song below with words full of promise. You may think back to the time when you said your wedding vows. It is good to remember.
If you are alone–or feel alone, remember the promise Jesus gave us in the passages above, to “be there.”

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