Ryan and Holly

Hello! Our names are Ryan and Holly and we are risk takers. Next February, we will be taking one such risk as we are preparing for the lifelong commitment of marriage. In today’s society, the words of lifelong, commitment, and marriage so rarely go together. In the marriage covenant, we believe that marriage is an institution by God and is inseparable as long as we shall live (Matt 19:6). 

  

On our wedding day, the vows we will say will seem so easy to profess. Loving is easy when you are polished, rested, surrounded by joy and beauty. Those vows however are not just for that day, but for the difficulties we will most assuredly encounter. At the center of every sacrament is the cross (1 Cor 1:23 - “we preach Christ crucified.”). Marriage is taking up your cross and following Christ daily. This will be part of our path to daily repentance and learning to love like Christ. Christ the bridegroom loves his bride, the Church, so much that he was willing to die for us all. 

 

To love is to will the good of another. It’s not “I love you when you make me feel happy.” It’s not a mere feeling that comes and goes. What keeps marriage going is your commitment to your spouse's holiness. Marriage is being willing to risk pain, infertility, heart break, affairs, cancer, or loss of a child. We live in a society fearful of commitment.  

 

Ryan and I have both seen marriage commitments fail. We hear things like “they aren’t the person I thought they were when we got married.” It is so easy to look back and imagine that things could be different. We all at a certain level think, if my life was different, if I had married someone else, if I had a different vocation, a different job, more sleep, then we could be happy and live a life of holiness but the path we have chosen is one that we are committed to because of the promises we will make.  

  

Elisabeth Elliot wrote, “the pathway to holiness is located right where you are. In those circumstances, those relationships, in that tiredness, in that challenge, the grace of God to make you holy is right there." We must cling to the idea that God's grace is not a useless idea, but is our daily life blood. He comes to us in our daily bread of the Eucharist. The Eucharist is Christ coming to marry us every time we receive him. 

  

So in a day when commitments are scarce and fear terrifies young people, we must remember that Christ is the ultimate example of love. We will keep striving for holiness and learn to “count it all joy” when we encounter trials as we know that the “testing of faith produces steadfastness” which ultimately “be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.” (James 1:3-4). 

  

Please pray for us and we hope you run to Christ’s love! 

 

Ryan Cheung and Holly Eliason