Marriage Mantle

I've been thinking a lot about what happened when I took my husband's last name. Last names are a pretty current notion; for previously men and women were known only by their their father or by the town they were from (biblically speaking). Along with changing times has also come a change in how we are recognized. It is said that in marriage the man places his "mantle" over his new bride and takes her unto his bossom. So I started thinking, what does that really mean. He is responsible for me spiritually, emotionally, and physically. But it is a little more than that. The word "mantle" means: Something that covers, envelops, or conceals. Yes, that's what it is....he is my covering (he covers me in prayer), he envelops me in his loving arms of protection (and what lovely arms they are), and he conceals all of my flaws (no one knows all of the things that I have put that man through). That is what makes me Simone Lane.

And under that mantle I plan to create a legacy that proves worthy of such a mantle. I will be a wife of noble character. His name shall be respected among his peers. If this sounds familiar is taking from Proverbs 31. You see just as he has a responsibility in placing his mantle over me (to love me as Christ loved the church)..... I have a responsibility to submit to his mantle (as unto Christ)......and then we have a marriage mantle.....more than just an exchange of names. Just as we share names, we share a covenant and a commitment to share in this life all that God will allow us to encounter. God has blessed me to be Simone, wife of Herbert Lane Jr, son of Herbert Lane Sr of Benicia, CA. This is my marriage mantle.