Tuesday, November 04, 2008

Yes it is a big deal.

No. No. Not the election. It was on this day 30 years ago that my bride and I made some promises to each other. On the surface they sound simple enough but these were covenant promises. To Love and Honor each other; the love part sounded simple because we were on fire with love so I did not pay much attention to the Honor part; (I was stupid then. Not that I am any smarter now just a different kind of stupid) I have found it is only by honoring that love is maintained and keeps the fire ever ready to flare up again.

‘To accept children gladly, for richer and poorer, in sickness and health, and through the good times and the bad’ this we both swore in front of God and everybody. The children part was easy, we thought, since we both wanted a baseball team but God had other plans for us.

Just as I tried to tell my children what these promises mean my parents told me. My kids looked at me like I must have looked at my parents not quite deer in the headlights but like a 10 year trying to understand 3 point perspective. It is impossible to get someone who is both invulnerable and invisible to understand that the down times and sacrifice are gifts. That can only be unwrapped with the power of grace through the sacrament of marriage.

We have done poorer and would like to try richer for a while. Through sickness we held each other and through heath we held each other. The good times have been very good and we have walked through the valley crap.

I guess what has made this “easy” for me is that to this day my bride is jelly to the bone.

“It is the nature of love to bind itself, and the institution of marriage merely paid the average man the compliment of taking him at his word.” GKC

Just cause I’m in the mood here is another one:

Falling asleep
holding hands
a habit
as old as their union

beginning
because they were
afraid
of losing
each other

then
they were
afraid
of losing
themselves

then
to strengthen
their
oneness

now
because they
are afraid
of losing
each other

3 comments:

  1. Anonymous8:35 AM

    What an attractive blog site. I've recently become acquainted with Chesterton and his writings. I appreciate what you've done here mixing his work with you own experiences. I hope you don't mind if I keep reading or if I link to your site on my own blog.

    Thanks - Will

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  2. Anonymous5:08 PM

    'Jelly to the bone?'

    Elucidations welcome.

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  3. It is a street saying from my old neighborhood and it means she is sweet goodness through and through. When I first met my bride to be I gave the precursor to that saying which is; “Must be Jelly cause Jam don’t shake that good.”

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