Does a vow still have the same integrity, strength and endurance today as it once portrayed 50 years ago?
I was thinking about that this weekend as I witnessed another vow of love bind two young hearts together in one of the greatest Sacraments – marriage.
The young men and women that were once teens in my young adult program are graduating college, or have been graduated and carrying on adult lives with jobs, bills, and countless responsibilities.
It is a gift to reconnect with them, remember the old times and celebrate in the endeavors and opportunities they are receiving from God.
But the one that gets me is witnessing them proclaim this vow among their family and friends in the midst of an era where the stamina and strength of a vow seems to have run thin.
As I hear the words (or some variation of this vow) “To have and to hold, for richer for poorer, in sickness and in health, till death do us part.” I say a prayer for the couple that this vow seeps into their spirit and resignates through the frustrations, growth, tragedies and personal crisis’. That instead of giving up because the world makes it seem so easy and natural that they believe in their vow and know God will give them what they need to persevere.
On the ride home from the wedding Sunday this prayer remained with me as I thought about what Neal and I have somehow muddled through our vow at times being the only thread holding us together. I’m grateful for the words I proclaimed in front of 300 guests 17 1/2 years ago, and I’m grateful that today I’m closer to understanding and receiving what I promised.
We spent the rest of the day putting up our 12ft Christmas tree that is obnoxiously big…yet fits the room well. It might take another 17 years to get the tree fully decorated but we’ll do our best!
Blessings
Shannon