It was a warm summer day when I took my children to a local lake for a swim. They love the water, and there was a game that we’d often play. While standing in waist-deep water, I would bend down and cup my hands. Then one of the children would step into my cupped hands, and I would throw my hands up and launch the child into deeper water. The kids enjoyed using my hands as a springboard, and they did this over and over again that day.  

One time, however, not only did my son fly off my hands and into the water but so did my engagement and wedding rings. I immediately dove into the water to retrieve them, but I could not see where they were. The kids joined in the search, as did another adult who had been swimming nearby. All of this activity stirred up a lot of sand on the floor of the lake, making it more difficult to see, and soon everyone else gave up and went on with their swimming. 

As I stood there alone, the thought came to me that I could never be separated from that which is rightfully mine. The Apostle Paul tells us that nothing, not things present or things to come, “shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans 8:38, 39). I see these rings as a symbol of love, a love that ultimately represents God’s love. I knew that nothing could separate me from God’s love.