You see, understanding the idea of stewardship changes how you approach things. I cuddled up to her with tears streaming down my face and told Jesus I would do my best to steward the responsibility He’d blessed me with.
Immediately I put down my coffee and Bible, got up from my chair, walked into our bedroom and laid down next to Amanda. I felt The Lord’s voice whisper to my heart: That she had been stewarded to me by our Heavenly Father for a season, and when that season is done it would be my responsibility to present my Bride to the Father. I felt the Lord speak to my heart and remind me Amanda wasn’t mine. I remember the weight of these words hitting me like a tsunami.
In this same way, husbands ought to love their wives as their own bodies. Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her to make her holy, cleansing her by the washing with water through the word, and to present her to himself as a radiant church, without stain or wrinkle or any other blemish, but holy and blameless. I read Ephesians 5:25-28 which says this: I was reading my Bible while Amanda was still asleep. While I felt a significant weight of responsibility that day at Arnie’s Pizza, it pales in comparison to the weight I felt one early January morning in 2009.
#I loved her first by heartland how to#
It was dad who taught Amanda how to handle God’s Word, how to seek wisdom whatever the cost, and how to love people well.
Amanda and he would have countless conversations about life, marriage, ministry, and how to deal with people. That she was a daughter of King Jesus and that sons and daughters of the King never have to settle for second best. He instilled in her that her value was inherent. He taught her early on that her value didn’t lie in the grades she brought home, how she performed in the sports arena, or what a boy said about her. I’m convinced this is why she was so confident in who she was in Christ. He was thrilled to give me his blessing, but I could see a little twinge in his eye, almost as if he was saying to me:Īmanda and her dad had a special relationship. I did my best to assure him I would follow Jesus’ direction for our lives the best I could. I did my best to explain to him my plan for providing for her. I did my best to explain to him I would love and cherish his daughter as long as I lived. I will never forget taking him out to Arnie’s pizza in Crawfordsville, IN to ask him if I could have his daughter’s hand in marriage. In fact, they are the EXACT same person! There were times when Amanda would laugh and her face would practically morph into her dad’s face! (It made it really difficult to kiss her in those moments - which I’m sure dad secretly relished). I used to ask him how I could love and lead Amanda better, and to this day I love talking to him about ministry, pastoring.and his daughter. He did our premarital counseling, and he would counsel us through the ups and downs of ministry. I could have sworn it was some kind of conspiracy against me! Every time I would hear one of these songs that summer I would almost impulsively drive up to Amanda’s dad’s house in tears and apologize for taking his daughter away from him! These songs touched me THAT much! I have an incredible relationship with Amanda’s dad. I also remember it seemed just about every country song released that summer was about a father giving his daughter away in marriage.