Vows

Here are the vows I made to my beauty over five years ago:

I, David, take you, Emily, as my lawfully and spiritually wedded wife
I promise to forsake all others
and cleave only to you
I promise to love
honor
comfort
and spiritually edify you
I take you from this day forth
for better or for worse
in riches and in poverty
in sickness and in health
till death do us part
I promise to pray for you
to live with you in an understanding way
to grant you honor
as a fellow heir of the grace of life
and to forgive you
as God has forgiven me
I promise to give myself to you
as Christ gave Himself for us
to fulfill my duty to you
and to be your spiritual leader
Therefore, I receive you
as God’s precious gift to me.

Today, in reading another blog, I was reminded of the power behind words, specifically behind our vows to one another. In spite of all the nonsensical chatter about "cheap talk" and the "weakness of language/words" I'm staying in the camp of word lovers!

True, we may never be as good as our words, but who says we should stop saying them and meaning them and striving toward them?

I'm inspired today to maintain the romantic zeal/ideal embedded w/in the words of our vows - words which we laboured and prayed over - in the face of a very critical culture where most marriages find their end in separation/divorce.

I think of William Faulkner who once said, "Words are my music - all that I need."

I love the music of words in this dance called life!