Roughly every other week in Leo Church, we hold Gospel Foundations Class. It’s designed to teach and discuss foundational truths of scripture - truths that most of us, having grown up in Christian families, have known seemingly forever. Anyone is welcome but it was planned with the teenage residents of Gateway Woods in mind, as they may not have had the advantage of attending church since babyhood.

Recently, the teacher said something in a way that I hadn’t encountered in my 58 years: “If you read the first two chapters and the last two chapter of the Bible, you will understand what God’s perfect plan is. Everything else after the fall in the third chapter is the story of God’s reconciling us to Himself.”

With this in mind, I read Genesis 1 and 2 with new eyes. Genesis 1 takes a bird’s eye view of creation. Genesis 2 takes an intimate look at one of God’s works of creation: Man and Woman. This proclamation follows: “Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and they shall become one flesh.” (Genesis 2:24) The formation of a family was the culmination of creation, and part of God’s perfect plan for humankind. In a world untainted by sin and death, and unbroken by the fall, every child would be born into an intact family. He or she would be the product of sacrificial love and unwavering commitment of one man and one woman joined before God in marriage.

Have you ever thought, “If only every child could have had a family like mine: raised in a loving, Christ-centered home, being taught about Jesus”? As houseparents, my husband and I had the opportunity to share a household with teens who had not experienced Jesus like we had in our childhoods.

One young woman was loath to leave. One reason being that her family did not eat supper together like she experienced at Gateway, and she didn’t want to lose that.

Another resident colored a picture for us of a young man on one knee presenting a flower to a young lady. Around the margins she wrote, “Merry Christmas. This is for you! Because I hope my love for someone grows as strong as yours.”

On two separate occasions, Paul and I were fixing breakfast together. In one instance we were bantering and joking together; in the other we were both working on our signature skillet breakfast. Both times, an onlooking resident told us spontaneously that they wanted to be like us when they were our age - they wanted a relationship like ours.

Now I realize why these memories are so precious to me: marriage was the first institution instituted by God, and part of His perfect plan.

As Christians we are still sinful creatures. Yet we can be, at least, a shadow of God’s perfect plan through the witness of a loving marriage. Through houseparenting, we are able to give many without the privileges that we have enjoyed, the chance to experience a different vision of family life.