Had a sweet conversation with our son today. I was able to say what needed saying, without hard feelings, and he appeared to listen. He filled me in on things, and he's determined to get married. Not sure about the hurry, but he's pretty well convinced that they're doing the right thing. Something about her mom being heavy-handed and wanting to run the show if they had an actual wedding.
I expressed concern with them having a civil ceremony, side-stepping a ceremony with the Lord's words spoken over them. He says they want low-key. I asked him again about his girlfriend's faith, asking directly if she's a believer. We've covered this territory before, but I wanted to look at him directly in the eyes to see what he'd say. He paused. Said something about her being a good Catholic, which is a bit of a stretch since she's been away from the Church for a long time, has only begun attending recently. He's asked me to go to church with them tomorrow night, my first visit to a Catholic Mass, and her mom might be there as well. She's looking for another Catholic church to attend. This ought to be interesting, to put it mildly. I've never met her mom before. Anyway, back to my question. He said that no, she's not a believer.
Reminded him that church affiliation didn't equal salvation, and he gets it. He knows all of this, but is shoving it aside. He's putting his emotions and love for this girl ahead of what he knows to be true. He gets the unequally yoked teaching, but is adamant in wanting his way.
"Marry in haste, repent at leisure." That quote's been in my mind's eye for awhile now.
Maybe the Lord has a special purpose for this union that we just can't see. I pray that it's so. They've made it hard, though, with being so secretive. I regret that if this follows through, my first child to marry will be under circumstances that are less than ideal. So many negatives piled up against them, without a common faith to hold them together. How folks manage to live day to day without a sense of God's Hand on them is a continued mystery to me. God help us all.
