Eternity

- Dearly beloved, we are gathered here today

to join this man and this woman in holy matrimony.

Love is patient, love is kind.

It does not envy, it does not boast.

It is not proud, it is not rude.

It is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered.

It keeps no record of wrongs.

It always protects, always trusts, always hopes,

and always preserves.

I love you.

I love you too.

- By the powers vested in me by this church,

I now pronounce you husband and wife.

You may kiss your bride.

- The other day, I went shopping with my wife.

Now some men loathe this, because when your wife

asks your opinion, you must tread lightly

or you will find yourself sleeping on the couch.

But when I go shopping with my wife,

I get to notice people.

I get to look at what they do, and how they act.

And when we look at another human being, we do one thing.

We judge them.

We judge their appearance, eating habits,

what they drive, how many kids they have.

We make an assumption without even saying a word.

I will admit that I am guilty of this myself, sometimes,

though I try not to be.

Matthew 7:1-2.

"Do not judge or you will be judged,

"for in the same way you judged others

"you will be judged.

"And with the same measure you use

"it will be measured to you."

And that's pretty simple and direct.

But why are we so quick to judge others

when some of us can't keep our own lives together?

This week I challenge you

to not judge,

but instead to remember what I've just reminded you of.

God is always watching, always.

Hi there.

- Pastor. - Oh it's okay, thank you.

Something wrong, honey?

I'm so sorry, Thomas.

Sorry for what?

- I took three pregnancy tests this morning,

and they call came back negative.

It's okay.

It's not okay!

We're trying to start a family together

and I can't even give us that.

It's just not the right time.

I am so sick of hearing that,

and I'm just so sick of the disappointment,

and the heartache.

I,

I'm not even gonna try to understand

what you're going through.

All I can do is be here for you, and comfort you.

What if I can't have a baby, Thomas?

- Then we'll cross that bridge when we get to it,

and if that bridge collapses, we'll build another one.

Ariana?

Ariana.

How is she?

- Has your wife been suffering from headaches

in the last few days?

No sir.

She's been fine.

- Your wife has suffered a ruptured aneurysm,

and the severity of it has placed her in a coma.

A coma?

What's the timeline on something like this?

It's hard to say.

I've seen cases where they stay in a coma

three to six weeks,

or worse cases, 12 or more.

Your wife seems to be strong,

and I think we'll go with the lesser amount.

I'm here, honey.

I'm right here.

Please God, please watch over her.

Ariana Mitchell?

Who are you?

You can just call me the Carpenter.

Why am I here?

How do you know my name?

I've known your name for a long time.

Where's my husband?

I wanna see my husband.

Your husband is fine.

What am I doing here?

Tell me something,

what is the last thing that you remember?

I was in the kitchen, and I got dizzy.

I fell to the ground, and that's the last thing I remember.

Just tell me what's going on, please!

- Well at this point, you should already know what this is.

You know everything about me.

My past, my present, and now my future?

Yes, I do.

And as you stand here in front of me, I ask you,

how do you view your life?

How did you view your life?

I don't understand.

Some things just never change.

You would know.

- Ariana Mitchell, it's a pleasure to meet you.

Who are you?

You can just call me the Thief.

You have no place here.

- I'm just getting acquainted with Miss Mitchell.

Besides, you're playing question and answer

with this poor woman,

and you still haven't answered her simple question.

I've answered everything

that needed to be answered.

I will be seeing you soon.

Why am I here?

Follow me.

This is where things changed in your life.

Everything was as it should be, until this moment.

- If you know that, then why are you making me relive it?

Sometimes we don't see things

for what they are with a first look.

Just watch, and see how bad things can happen

to your heart in an instant.

This was the day my father left us.

I was never the same after this.

- Tomorrow holds the strength to be better than yesterday.

I'll come get the rest of my things

when Ariana's at school and you're at work.

So that's it?

No chance to try to work it out?

- Geez Wendy, I told you, it's completely over.

I don't want to work things out.

We don't deserve this.

You have a little girl that needs her father!

You have the balls to leave us,

but they aren't big enough to look me in the eye.

What do you want me to say to you?

I'm tired of living this life.

I'm tired of routine, I'm tired of church.

I've done things the Christian way for years,

and it's got me nothing!

Is that what you think?

You know what I mean.

No, I don't!

I know that this life we live is hard,

but who said life was easy?

We do our best, and make it work.

God will do the rest if we remain faithful to him!

And there you go again.

You throw God into everything.

If there's one thing I've done,

it's waste my time praying for a better life.

Well, I found someone.

I found someone who wants to live life to the fullest.

You have a great life now.

You just choose to throw it away for one moment of lust.

If you told me right now that you will stay to work it out,

then I will forgive you,

no matter how hard it will be

to look at you and tolerate you,

I would still forgive you and work on getting it right.

But if you walk out that door, it's over.

Forgiveness isn't an option after that.

Please don't leave us, Daddy.

Please stay with us.

Don't be sad, sweetheart.

It's gonna be okay.

- Will God take care of us since Daddy won't?

Yes baby, he will.

Then don't be sad, Mommy.

As a child, your faith was so strong.

- No child should live the life that I've had to.

- You think your life is worse than others?

At times, yes.

I had to shut everyone off from school, church.

The outside world, it was a dark place,

but my heart was even darker.

Are you okay, Mama?

I'm okay, sweetheart.

You go on to sleep.

You can stay in here with me

so you don't have to sleep alone.

- You have a big heart, Ariana, do you know that?

I get it from you.

I wanna be just like you when I get older.

I want you to be your own person.

You should never be what someone else wants you to be.

Can I ask you something?

You can always ask me anything.

How do you feel since Dad's gone?

Right now, I feel angry and hurt.

Your father has fallen in love, or thinks that he has,

with someone else.

Does he still love me?

I wanna tell you yes honey, but.