God calls man and woman into a different relationship. It is a relationship that looks like two hands that fold in the act of prayer. The fingertips touch, but the hands can create a space, like a little tent. Such a space is created by love, not by fear. Marriage is creating a new, open space where God's love can be revealed to the "stranger": the child, the friend, the visitor.
This marriage becomes a witness to God's desire to be among us as a faithful friend.
— Henri J. M. Nouwen, Here and Now