The Unity Sand Ceremony

Often in our presentations, David and I will refer to the ceremony of the unity sand.  This is where the bride and groom each takes a container of sand and pours their individual containers of sand into one urn.  The grains of sand from the two different containers of sand are intermingled together in such a way it would be nearly impossible to pour them back into their individual containers. This, of course, represents the oneness the Lord intends for us to have in marriage.

Well, I wanted to show an image of this for a recent talk we were giving on commitment and did a search on the internet.  To my surprise, I found these beautifully sculptured urns of sand – a layer of blue and a layer of orange carefully poured in such a way it looked beautiful, but for me, it missed the point. See, if someone wants to, they could possibly scoop or funnel the layers out and pour them back into their individual containers.  That’s not representing oneness. . .the intermingling of two lives like God intended.  But could it be it truly represents more of what many of today’s marriages look like. . . pretty on the outside, but void on the inside…going their separate ways, doing their own things, barely touching and if things don’t work out, scooping their grains of sand back into their individual containers?

It also reflects the grand extremes people are going to in order to have these lavish weddings, yet failing to put the time and effort into forming a proper foundation for the marriage to build on.

We, of course, would urge all couples to get pre-marital education.  Research tells us in-depth, pre-marital preparation can cut ones chances of divorce by 30%.  Our motto, “Don’t just have a beautiful wedding; have a beautiful marriage.”  And learn how your lives should be intermingled in such a way it’s not just pretty on the outside, but truly beautiful from the inside out with Christ being the container that holds the marriage together.

Grace and peace,

Penny