Bless
- Feb 15, 2020
- 4 min read

A Year Filled with Love + LOTS of pictures!

Updated: Apr 3, 2021

February 14, 2020

Scripture: “Rejoice with those who rejoice…” Romans 12:15

At a young age, I attended more weddings than I could count. I mainly attended Nigerian weddings which includes the traditional and white wedding segments. These weddings were a weekend affair! The weddings were usually church members who invited the entire congregation to celebrate. The sad part is, sometimes my family didn’t have a “close” relationship with the couple getting married, we didn’t know their love story or how they met. The wedding was just another celebratory event, I was technically attending to eat and party.

Fast forward to my adult years…

Last year, I was blessed to receive not one or two, but seven wedding invitations! While attending all of these weddings (except one ☹), I had other friends repeatedly comment, “Bless, you’re always going to a wedding!, you can’t possibly know all of these people…”, or “wow, can I come to a Nigerian wedding with you??”, and so on.

Well surpriseeeee, I do know these people and have seen their love flourish through the years! I can’t help that 7 friends decided to get married in the same year *shrugs*. This was a year filled with love and I’m grateful I was able to revel with them on their special day! As the scripture stated above commands to rejoice with those who rejoice!

Most Christian weddings usually recite Genesis 2:18-25 during the ceremony. It’s a story that begins and ends with God’s anthropomorphic nature carefully designing a woman out of the man’s structure. This is the reason why some men say, “I’m looking for my rib”, meanwhile some women follow up with, “I’m somebody’s rib.” Either way, I think it’s important to recognize that before we were created for each other, we were created for God.

We were created from God’s glory and given a task to work and help. The man was given the task to work by tending the garden and the woman was sent as a partner to help. Partner is defined as someone who shares or is associated with another in some action or endeavor. The law definition asserts, a partner is a contributor of capital in a business or a joint venture, usually sharing its risks and profits. I emphasized, “to share the same risk and profits” because we all know what happened with Eve and the apple. Long story short, Adam shared in the punishment initiated by Eve by disobediently eating the forbidden fruit which consequently affected their offspring. (Side note: watch how Jackie Hill Perry preaches about the moment in the garden here.)

Contrary to popular belief, the woman was not created to be dominated, she was created to be in close partnership with the man. I believe God’s initial intent was to create complimentary partners who equally share mutual responsibilities. However, the blessing of being a helper and partner would be defiled by sin. Help would soon seem like a curse and dominance would be the new language heard from the lips of men who overpower women. The point of analyzing, what I call, “God’s intent”is to realize that before the fall, Genesis depicts a man and woman living in harmony, helping each other tend a lush garden, and living under God’s glory. I believe this was God’s original relationship goal between men & women; and I’m here for it!

I pray that my friends’ relationships will align with God’s initial intent. I pray they will work successful jobs while becoming experts in their fields. I pray that their families will flourish, and their offspring will be just as outstanding. I pray that each relationship will live under God’s glory and worship God in spirit and in truth. I pray that future conflicts will be mended by way of clear communication and understanding. I pray that the world’s patriarchal views will not seep into their marriages and they will see each other as partners in Christ forever. I love you all and I am so excited to see where the future takes you!

Side Note:

I’m proud to say I officially mastered “wedding etiquette” lol! The golden rule is, do not invite others to crash the party!! I do not advise inviting additional guests unless the invitation explicitly states +1 is allowed. It’s rude, obnoxious, and inconsiderate to invite guests to someone else’s grand event. There is a tremendous amount of money poured into this day and as we all know, weddings aren’t cheap! Most couples would rather keep the celebration enclosed to guests that care and know them personally. Besides, as stated earlier, weddings are the most enjoyable when you know the couple otherwise it’s just another party.

Also, don’t forget to RSVP! After being a part of two bridal parties, I no longer take it lightly to be invited to weddings or to be included in it. The attendance count is vital to planning the event because it ensures each guest is welcomed and fed accordingly. Be courteous and RSVP as promptly as you can!