From the very beginning man was created by God in a garden, the Garden of Eden (Genesis 2:8), and there he joined man to woman in a union to live under His blessing and care. So began the first married couple. In the New Testament, Jesus chose a wedding as the scene for His very first miracle (John 2:1-12).

In all gardens, from a small kitchen garden to a large cultivated estate, it is the soil that is the living foundation upon which all planting and growth depends. Soil acts as a structural anchor and a nutrient reservoir rich in organisms that are invisible to the eye yet essential for growth.

When entering into marriage it may be of value to view this relationship like the soil in a garden. The soil in gardens and farmers fields are each a unique ecosystem. Likewise, marriages are their own ecology, each unique according to the invisible attributes, characteristics and belief systems of the two individuals. What is wonderful to know is that even when the soil is off to a poor start, with the proper attention it can become fertile. The source of support for the soil is a good fertilizer, a rich compost with lots of nutrients and microbes. God provides the support. 

Advertisement

Older people who have worked a marital garden over a lifetime can offer plenty of advice to younger gardeners along the way. They’ve tilled the garden of marriage. Faith, being an essential ingredient, supports, sustains, improves and nurtures home life to yield good fruit.

Advertisement

I know a husband who has seven children and numerous grandchildren. On Saturday afternoons, he sends a text to each to give them a nudge telling them that confession is now taking place: don’t forget He is waiting for you there. This father is looking out for the marriages of his own sons and daughters because he knows the generosity of spirit that is the result of frequent confession, an essential ingredient in the garden of marriage. As this father helps his children, how much more is God going to help His own sons and daughters with their marriages?

When God is central in the marriage the results can be rich and fulfilling, albeit not without hardship, and at times distress. When a hard winter causes a loss in the garden it can be rebuilt, It may mean moving and transplanting things and adding fertilizer to the soil, testing it for pH and adjusting it as required. Cared for it will yield plants, beauty, food for butterflies and bees or produce seeds that can be passed on for generations. When cared for it will grow stronger and stronger. 

So it is with a marriage. The early days of the marriage are like a sapling that 50 years later is a tall strong tree. The rings of a tree when cut down can tell a story. Within the rings there is evidence of difficult years of poor growth due to tough times. Yet the tree continues on and the rings show that good years followed the difficult ones.

Advertisement

In the garden of marriage, God helps withstand the storms and provides the environment for the husband and wife to support the formation of a family, nurturing children into young adults who can encourage one another and build up society.

Marriage is the living foundation of societal structure. The result of marriage is generally a family, the next generation providing continuity and stability to social life, contributing to society through governance, health care, music, literature and more.