I heard the most endearing story today about a husband who
did a most wonderful thing for his wife.
While I can’t divulge all of the details of the situation, let me say
that it brought me to tears to hear how much this man would sacrifice for his
wife. Why would a husband do that? There is no other explanation than because he
has pure, true, and unselfish love for his wife. What an amazing gift this woman has received from
her husband!
After suffering terrible hardship earlier this year, the
woman was crushed beyond belief. I have
felt this pain and know how difficult it is to endure. And, while a woman bears much burden
sometimes, we forget how much it pains our husbands to see us in turmoil. For a man, it is a helpless feeling to know
he cannot fix his beloved wife. He took
a vow in front of God, his wife, family, and friends that he would protect this
woman and here is stuck. He was unable
to protect her from her pain and suffering and he can’t make her whole
again. But, what he did do is pray for
her unceasingly. He knew that God was
with them even if He seemed far away.
Her husband had never doubted that our most loving God was with them
through it all. In the end, he made the
ultimate sacrifice for his wife because he could not bear to see her suffer any
more. This decision could not have come
lightly and I know it could not have come without much prayer. God will bless this husband many times over for
protecting his wife and for sacrificing so much for her. I know his sacrifice was great…beyond words
actually.
As I listened, and cried, to this story I kept thinking
about how blessed this woman is. And
then, I realized very quickly that I am equally as blessed with a faithful and
loving husband. My husband has always
put me as a priority in his life. He
probably has never prayed for himself a day in his life, but always asked God
to bless me and our children. He has
told me time and time again that he has prayed for my soul, but never once
mentioned himself.
He worries incessantly about our finances and providing for
our family which makes me crazy, but then I realize that he does this out of
nothing more than love and to fulfill his marital vows. He took those vows seriously when we made
them and still does today.
People who question why they should get married should read
and meditate on the typical marriage vows exchanged in a Christian marriage. While many people say marriage is nothing
more than a piece of paper… I say they are wrong. Marriage is a covenant. It’s a sacrament. It’s a commitment that means so much more
than signing a piece of paper and having a reception/celebration.
Because my husband and I were married in the Catholic
Church, I will share the following vows:
{Catholic wedding vows are usually preceded by three
questions from the priest:
"(Name) and (name), have you come here freely and
without reservation to give yourselves to each other in marriage?"
"Will you honor each other as man and wife for the
rest of your lives?"
"Will you accept children lovingly from God, and
bring them up according to the law of Christ and his Church?"
The bride and groom respond "I will" or
"yes" (Rite of Marriage #34).
The Rite of Marriage (#25) offers several options for
Catholic wedding vows. The standard version goes like this:
Priest (or deacon): Since it is your intention to enter
into marriage, join your right hands, and declare your consent before God and
his Church.
Groom: I, (name), take you, (name), to be my wife. I
promise to be true to you in good times and in bad, in sickness and in health.
I will love you and honor you all the days of my life.
Bride: I, (name), take you, (name), to be my husband. I
promise to be true to you in good times and in bad, in sickness and in health.
I will love you and honor you all the days of my life.
The priest acknowledges that the couple have declared
their consent to be married, prays for God's blessing on the couple, and
declares, "What God has joined, men must not divide" (Rite of
Marriage #26). This is the point at which, sacramentally, the bride and groom
become wife and husband.
The Blessing of Rings follows the declaration of consent.
(Again, it is ideal for the bride and groom to memorize these lines.) The
priest says a blessing over the wedding rings (Rite of Marriage #27) and then
the couple exchange wedding rings (#28):
Groom (placing the wedding ring on his wife's ring
finger): (Name), take this ring as a sign of my love and fidelity. In the name
of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.
Bride (placing the wedding ring on her husband's ring
finger): (Name), take this ring as a sign of my love and fidelity. In the name
of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.
The General Intercessions (sometimes called Prayers of
the Faithful or Bidding Prayers) follow, and then, if the sacrament of marriage
is being celebrated within Mass, the Liturgy of the Eucharist.
Borrowed from: http://catholicweddinghelp.com/topics/catholic-wedding-vows.htm}
When my husband and I said these vows, we said them, first
and foremost, in front of God. This was
the promise we made to Him, in His church, in front of all of our witnesses. Are we perfect? No way!
Do we argue? Most certainly! But, more important than selfishness is our sacrificial
love for one another. And if I want to
be completely honest, my husband is ten times better at it than me. I pray about this regularly and ask for the
will to put his needs before mine, but this has been a very slow process. Luckily, he is patient and kind and is not
jealous. He, like the husband above, is
a true gift from our God in heaven.
Please don’t misunderstand my writing as saying that you
must have been married in a Christian church to have a valid marriage. That is absolutely not what I’m saying. What I’m trying to emphasize, simply by using
the Christian vows as an example, is the commitment that man and woman make to
one another when they make these vows.
Or, they should make to each other when they take these vows. Marriage is not for the unsteady or the
easily broken. It’s hard and sometimes
you want to run away. BUT, marriage is a
gift given to us that should not, under any circumstance, be entered into
lightly. God does not promise us an easy
road, but He does promise to stay with us through the journey. I’m grateful that today I’m remembering that
He’s with me through the journey because my road does not seem easy.
For me, that’s a day in the life…
