Thursday 3 September 2009

“I will” is more profound than “I do”? (More ponderings on my approaching marriage)

Amidst the busyness of preparing to get married, I have been continuing to try and find a few minutes here and there to ponder on what getting married is all about.
I think the most profound part of the day is the vows which Christine and I will make to each other.
I have been trying to memorise mine, but I think I will be so nervous on the day, that I will just let the vicar prompt me. These are the vows:

“I Rob, take you Christine
To be my wife
To have and to hold
From this day forward
For better for worse
For richer for poorer
In sickness and in health
To love and to cherish
Until death us do part
According to God’s holy law,
And this is my solemn vow”

Wow! This is a pretty extraordinary thing to say to someone!

The other interesting thing, is that the in the preliminary part of the vows, the vicar will say to me

“Will you love her, comfort her, honour and protect her...?”

I like that it is “I WILL love her”, rather than “I DO love her” – because I think marriage is about promising what we will do – and I think that although sometimes love is a feeling which comes to us easily, often, especially in the long run, it will be a choice. To keep choosing to love, to keep my heart soft, to be a blessing to her… that’s a choice that I have to make every day of my life from now on. So I pray to God for strength of heart and mind to do that.