Marriage Survived the Fall, and You Can Too
Recently I was at a wedding for one of my friends. At the wedding, the priest gave a homily that stuck with me. He explained that because of the Fall, we’ve lost much of the Garden: perfect harmony with creation, a life free from pain and suffering, and the ability to walk with God. But the one thing that remained—the one piece of the Garden God allowed us to keep—was marriage.
You see, I’ve been thinking a lot about marriage and my vocation as a daughter. I’ve been through so much hurt, so much devastation. After all, Jeremiah never married because of the destruction around him (Jeremiah 16:1-9); What hope have I for bringing someone into such a broken heart?
But upon hearing this homily I realized something—God is not going to punish our vocation because we fall. In His infinite mercy and kindness, the Lord doesn’t take away our means for attaining salvation, He encourages us to lean further into it. The Fall of Man was the most devastating event in human history. If God allowed Adam and Eve to experience marriage on the other side of destruction, why wouldn’t He do the same for us?
It’s easy to get discouraged after falling into sin. The devil feeds us full of lies and deception to encourage us to fall and then weighs us down with guilt and shame to keep us from ever getting back up. He lied to Eve and told her that God was being dishonest with her. He lied to Adam and told him it was all Eve’s fault. Adam and Even suffered the most devastating consequences imaginable. However, even as everything was taken away from them—even as the veil was placed between them and God—they still had each other; they still had their marriage.
In a certain sense, we’re all called to marriage of some kind. Husbands and wives are called to marriage on Earth while priests, religious sisters, and singles are called to heavenly marriage with our Lord. Marriage is a fundamental part of our salvation and the crux of our vocation—so important that God preserved it even within the fall of mankind. So why are we so afraid He will keep it from us?
The other night I had a deep sense that I am supposed to desire marriage. It was a reassurance I needed in the midst of a very lonely season. And although I’m not dating anyone and have no prospects on the horizon, I’m not worried. Because even though I can’t see how my vocation will take shape over the course of my life, I can see that today He wants me to seek a relationship with Him. Today He wants me to pray for my future husband. Today He wants me to remember that no matter what I’ve been through—no matter how broken I may feel—He will never take my vocation away from me.
If Adam and Eve can survive the Fall and still bare the line of David, I can survive today with a heart that has experienced much, and desires so much more.